‘I still want to verify this’: Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay’s first reaction

Loading the video World News Video. ‘I still want to verify this’: Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay’s first reaction Copy/paste the link below: Copy/paste the article video embed link below: Updated: 09/10/2026 - 13:05 GMT+2 Former UN human rights commissioner Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The 85-year-old said her first reaction to hearing the news was to think it must be a joke. “Being a lawyer and a judge, I still want to verify this,” she said. Originally from Durban, South Africa, Pillay has spent decades working in international law and human rights. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, she presided over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which investigated and prosecuted those responsible for the 1994 genocide. More recently, she served on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. Nobel Prize Nobel Peace Prize Nobel Academy Top stories Now playing Next ‘I still want to verify this’: Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay’s first reaction Now playing Next US sailors reunite with families as USS Abraham Lincoln returns home Now playing Next Cars burned and shops looted as anti-immigration protests rock South Africa Now playing Next Latest news bulletin | October 9th, 2026 – Morning Now playing Next Chile: Santiago flooding turns streets to rivers as Kast declares state of catastrophe Now playing Next 'Modern-day Thomas Edison': Trump awards Musk top US science medal Now playing Next US to livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter, 'torture' for UN Now playing Next Mélenchon declares ‘Bastille retaken’ after major student rally Now playing Next Marco Rubio calls Portugal 'ideal gateway' to Europe for US Now playing Next Inside Kazakhstan’s rock-hewn mosques now recognised by UNESCO In partnership with MDQ Now playing Next Fire rages at Yandex data centre after Ukraine drone attack Now playing Next French students 'retake Bastille', Trump 'unwilling' to help Ukraine Now playing Next Inside Kazakhstan’s historic rock-hewn mosques now recognised by UNESCO Now playing Next Violence is 'not general' in French students protests, MEP says Now playing Next Associate EU membership 'very interesting' for New Zealand, says former prime minister Now playing Next Latest attacks on Ukraine are ‘war crimes done by Putin’, says Ukrainian politician ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT World News Fire rages at Yandex data centre after Ukraine drone attack Azerbaijan Experts in Baku urge action as missing persons surge worldwide and in Ukraine World News “I settled eight wars”: Trump says he deserves Nobel Peace Prize World News Christa Pike's lawyer: She woke up and began talking Climate Hungary's 2026 drought is the country's most severe in 126 years, data shows Europe Today Rima Hassan denies throwing the EU flag to the floor at 7 October commemoration Europe Today Europe Today: French students 'retake Bastille', Trump 'unwilling' to help Ukraine No Comment Deadly floods sweep Albania and Montenegro as rivers burst banks No Comment Hundreds of farmers rally in Paris against EU-Mercosur pact and import fears Europe News ‘We will continue’: Madrid protesters pay tribute to 87-year-old woman Sport Tsunoda Claims World Gold as Murao Retains His Title in Baku Europe News Mélenchon declares ‘Bastille retaken’ after major student rally in Paris ADVERTISEMENT No Comment Tiny turtles take their first steps towards the sea No Comment Heavy autumn snow paralyses roads in Russia’s Far East Europe News Marco Rubio calls Portugal 'ideal gateway' to Europe for US during Lisbon visit No Comment French students clash with police as school protests continue Focus Turkmenistan marks 35 years of independence with an eye on the future Culture news Michael Jackson memorabilia including iconic Thriller jacket to go under the hammer Europe News EU presses Russia for more details on suspected plague case Business Series From oil to renewables: this country's energy giant looks beyond its borders ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT