00:00We have good news coming in for you at the start of this bulletin because the Norwegian Nobel Committee has
00:05decided to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, not to Donald Trump, but to Navneetam or Navi Pillai for her
00:14efforts to promote peace and international law.
00:17That's right. Jurist and former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the 2026 Peace Laureate is Navi Pillai.
00:25The Norwegian Committee, which is of the Nobel Committee, which is of course institutionalized in Norway, has decided to award
00:31the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navi Pillai for, and I'm quoting the committee here, for her efforts to
00:37promote peace and international law.
00:39Navi Pillai's commitment to universal legal principles and a firm moral compass, a constant in a long career, a common
00:47thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid, to her service as
00:54a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.
00:58And I continue quoting the committee here that Navi Pillai has held states and national leaders accountable and has brought
01:05hope to victims of violence and conflict.
01:07In all the positions she has held, she has stressed on the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with
01:13the rule of the law.
01:18The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navi Pillai for her efforts
01:30to promote peace and international law.
01:37Let's go across to my colleague, Pranay, who is joining us with more details.
01:40Pranay, take us more through the life and work of Navi Pillai from what we understand and what we have
01:45heard of the Nobel Peace Committee as well.
01:47She has been someone who has been instrumental in standing up for justice and standing up for social discrimination, whether
01:53it be in her work in Rwanda or in her home country of South Africa.
02:04Pranay, Pranay, who was born in 1941, 85-year-old jurist, who grew up during the time of apartheid, stood
02:14for human rights and law.
02:16And she was probably the first non-white lawyer in Durban, a woman lawyer who started her practice there.
02:23And she was honored for defending the human rights and defending the global justice.
02:28And the committee noted that the comment said in her career, planning from her early days, defending the anti-apartheid
02:35activists like Nelson Mandela.
02:37She also defended Nelson Mandela's case as well, to serve one major international court as well.
02:46And in fact, you know, this is also a proud moment for India as well, because she's a third generation,
02:52you know, migrant of Indian roots to South Africa.
02:57Her grandparents migrated as laborers to South Africa during the Madras presidency time.
03:03And then she grew up in a very humble background. And finally, she will be accorded this Nobel Peace Prize
03:09for 2026 on December 10th, 2026.
03:12In it, Pranay. And as we speak, she's serving as an ad hoc judge on the International Court of Justice
03:18on the Gambia versus Myanmar.
03:20But more importantly, Pranay, she's also the chair of the UN Independent International Commission for Enquiry on Occupied Palestinian Territory.
03:27So it is something. Am I reading it a bit too much? Or is it an important message being sent
03:32out at a time when the world, especially that region, is going through immense humanitarian crisis?
03:38Absolutely, you're right, Anshu. An important message is being sent here.
03:42And if you see, you know, the political pressure around the name of President Donald Trump and how he deserves
03:49a Nobel Peace Prize,
03:51but the committee was not impressed. And in fact, they decided independently and in fact,
03:56she rightly pointed it out that, you know, Navi Pillai or Navi Natham Navi Pillai is serving as a judge
04:02and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
04:05where she has established a landmark legal president, recognizing the rape as an international, as an institutional act of genocide.
04:13And she's also serving as a judge of the International Criminal Court.
04:19Also, Pranay, let's address the elephant in the room. We are, of course, referring to the man you see on
04:23your screens also.
04:23For the second time in a row, Donald Trump has been snubbed. It was Maria Machado last year and it
04:30is Navi Pillai this year,
04:31which indicates that no matter how much you lobby for it, the peace prize is given in terms of the
04:36wisdom of the committee
04:37and not on the basis of what someone may lobby for. So, who exactly is Navi Pillai?
04:44She's a South African jurist and human rights advocate. As we told you, she was born into a Tamil family
04:49under apartheid in South Africa,
04:52which is why she identified deeply with the cause of Nelson Mandela.
04:56She was also the first non-white woman to open a law practice in a natal in South Africa.
05:02She was also the first non-white woman judge of South Africa's high court.
05:08And as we speak, she's been serving as the judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
05:14someone who played a very important role in the reconciliation and transitional justice of Rwanda
05:19post the genocide of Hutus in 1994.
05:24She has also served as a judge at the International Criminal Court
05:27and as a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.
05:34So, of course, as we have been telling you, she's someone who, I mean, she's also someone who has Indian
05:39roots.
05:40As Pranayya was saying, she's a third generation.
05:43She is a third generation Indian at this point.
05:47Her grandfathers were or grandparents were of Indian origin.
05:51We also know that she is someone who has stood up deeply for justice, especially in Africa
05:56and also in Palestine as well.
