Praise pours in for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay even as Israel criticizes selection

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Advocates of human rights and international justice cheered, as Israel and its supporters expressed disappointment, after South African jurist and former U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The 85-year-old, who currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, drew huge applause and an outpouring of praise for her work over decades — including as an investigator of crimes in Rwanda, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and as a lawyer who helped defend Nelson Mandela.

Here’s a look at some of the reactions to the announcement of her award:

— “Today’s prize is a tribute to all those working to uphold and defend international law, the rule of law and human rights, and secure peace, justice and human dignity,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement welcoming the award.

— “Justice Pillay’s crowning as winner of the Nobel Prize allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally. She has served humanity with principle and the belief that the world can and should be a better place,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

— “The Nobel Prize committee has lost its moral compass. It has awarded its highest honor to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X.

— “Few have devoted their lives to justice, peace and human dignity like she did. From the violence of apartheid in South Africa to the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, she has confronted some of humanity’s darkest chapters. She has looked the brutality of injustice in the eye and never looked away. She is the defender of the persecuted, the vulnerable, the voiceless and the excluded. Of the rule of law over the right of might. In a world that needs justice more than ever, her courage and moral clarity are a precious compass,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X.

— “To say it is well-deserved is an understatement. At a time when human rights are under attack on so many fronts, including from those who wield enormous power, this award is particularly poignant. It is an award to all those who, around the world, dedicate their lives to the defense of human rights — often at great risk to their security,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, one of Pillay’s successors in that post.

— “She has had a profound influence in South Africa, Rwanda, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and as leader of the U.N.’s human rights body,” said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

— “It’s a prize for survivors and victims of genocide and apartheid and shows they can survive and defeat illegality,” said Omar Awadallah, a deputy foreign minister in the Palestinian Authority.

— “Her achievements remind us that the pursuit of justice and the protection of human dignity are not merely ideals to be upheld, but responsibilities to be advanced through principled leadership and purposeful action,” South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pillay’s alma mater, said in a statement.

__ “This could not be a better choice at the time of the attacks against international justice. She is a former ICC judge at a time when the U.S. administration is seeking to destroy the ICC,” said Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard.

— “She has shown the world that the quest for justice and the quest for peace are one and the same. At a moment where international law is under attack, along with the institutions that exist to uphold it, her work should serve as an inspiration to us all,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted on X.

— “We in the Spanish government join in this recognition, applaud her work and reaffirm, now more than ever, our support for international organizations responsible for safeguarding peace,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on X.

— “Her life’s work — from her struggle against apartheid to her outstanding contributions to international criminal justice and the United Nations — deserves our highest recognition. Germany stands firmly behind international law and international justice,” Steffen Meyer, deputy spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said in a news briefing.

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Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

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AP Nobel Prizes: https://apnews.com/hub/nobel-prizes