South African lawyer Navanethem Pillay was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2026. She has long been associated with FAU and human rights research in Nuremberg and has been committed to justice and human dignity for decades. When the Nobel Prize Committee in Stockholm announced the award, she was attending a conference of the Academy of the Nuremberg Principles in the historic Hall 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. For everyone present, this moment became an unforgettable event.
Pillay had already championed the rights of those affected during the apartheid era and later served, among other roles, as a judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Today, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Nurember Principles Academy, which is headed by Prof. Dr. Christoph Safferling.
During her visit in 2017, she encouraged students in the International Master’s Programme in Human Rights to advocate for human rights with conviction and personal commitment. She was also in Nuremberg on October 9, 2026, when this year’s Nobel Prize decision was announced. Professor Safferling describes the situation in an interview:
The news came as a complete surprise. At first, we stared in disbelief at the messages on our cell phones, realizing that the person sitting right there with us in the room had actually been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Prize Committee hadn’t been able to reach Ms. Pillay because she was attending the conference. Once it became clear that we hadn’t fallen for a hoax, the cheers in the hall were deafening. My team at the Academy then had to keep a cool head, wrap up the conference, establish a connection to Stockholm, and prepare an international press conference. What an incredible day!
Prof. Dr. Markus Krajewski, FAU CHREN Board member and co-spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence “Transforming Human Rights”, hails the award as recognition of Pillay’s extraordinary life’s work. At the same time, it underscores the importance of global efforts for peace, justice, and human rights—topics that are also central to research and teaching at the Cluster of Excellence “Transforming Human Rights” and at FAU’s Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU CHREN).
Die Nachricht kam völlig überraschend. Zunächst haben wir ungläubig auf die Nachrichten am Handy gestarrt, dass tatsächlich die Person, die mit im Raum sitzt, mit dem Friedensnobelpreis 2026 ausgezeichnet wird. Das Nobelpreiskomitee konnte Frau Pillay ja nicht erreichen, weil sie eben auf der Tagung war. Als dann klar war, dass wir keiner Falschmeldung aufgesessen waren, war der Jubel im Saal riesengroß. Mein Team an der Akademie musste dann aber kühlen Kopf bewahren, die Tagung zu Ende bringen, eine Leitung nach Stockholm herstellen und eine internationale Pressekonferenz vorbereiten. Ein unglaublicher Tag!