Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay calls on US to 'get back to' being defender of human rights

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay on Tuesday (Oct 13) urged the United States to return to its traditional role as a global defender of human rights, criticising Washington’s campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its decision to impose sanctions on the institution. “My message is: ‘You have to get back to playing your serious role as a leader, playing a liberatory role for the rest of the world,'" Pillay, 85, told Reuters in The Hague on Tuesday, where she serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest court.

The remarks came days after Pillay was announced as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner. Hours after the announcement on Friday, the US unveiled sweeping sanctions targeting the ICC, where Pillay previously worked.

Pillay said she did not believe the timing was coincidental, arguing that efforts to weaken international criminal justice through the court had been developing for some time. Notably, US President Donald Trump was also a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize; he was nominated for the honour by the leaders or governments of Pakistan, Israel, and Cambodia. “I think it’s very unfortunate. However, the plans of targeting international criminal justice through the ICC were brewing all the time,” she said.

Also read | Nobel Peace Prize 2026 goes to Indian-Origin Human Rights Pioneer Navi Pillay

Pillay condemns US sanctions against ICC

Pillay said she visited ICC staff after returning from Nuremberg to The Hague to express solidarity with those working to advance international criminal justice and support personnel who have already been sanctioned.

The sanctions have raised concerns about the pressure facing international judicial institutions. On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the ICC as a “rogue court” and said Washington would not allow it to prosecute Americans.

Also read | ‘We will end ICC’: US sanctions International court, threatens to cripple hours after Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize

What does the US have against the ICC?

The US has long opposed aspects of the ICC’s jurisdiction, particularly its ability to prosecute alleged atrocity crimes committed on the territory of member states even when the accused is a national of a country that has not joined the court.

President Donald Trump has been particularly angered by arrest warrants issued by the ICC in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. His administration has intensified pressure on the court in recent months.

Speaking at an event at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on Saturday, Pillay described the sanctions as “unheard of, unacceptable”.

“There are hundreds of staff who feel they are under threat,” she said via video link from Nuremberg, adding that the measures targeted judges over the judicial orders they issue.