The South Africa-born Pillay, 85, was recognised for her efforts to promote peace and international law, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“At a time when the number of wars and conflicts is rising, and when judges and institutions of international law are under political attack, the Nobel Committee wishes to issue a reminder that the ability to resolve conflicts without force or violence is dependent on the international rule of law,” the committee said.
“An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world.
“A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.”
The United Nations human rights office welcomed the news of Pillay’s win, acknowledging her longstanding advocacy for human rights.
“It is amazing news, we need more dedication and commitment to human rights,” Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the office.
The award is often considered the most prestigious honour on the planet.
The committee in Oslo received nominations for 287 candidates for this year’s prize, and just over a quarter of them are organisations. Experts say the committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.
Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness”.
Machado gave US President Donald Trump her Nobel medal shortly after the US ousted then president Nicolás Maduro. But it was largely a symbolic gesture: the committee has said the honour cannot be transferred.
The Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced on Monday. (AP & Reuters)
