Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize after long career of investigating war crimes

Amna Nawaz:

Today, international human rights lawyer Navanethem or "Navi" Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee said it chose her as -- quote -- "Institutions of international law are under political attack." Just hours later, the Trump administration sanctioned the International Criminal Court, where Pillay was a judge.

Here's Nick Schifrin with more.

Nick Schifrin:

Today, the Nobel Committee called Pillay a legal pioneer with exceptional courage and integrity who has led the way toward a more comprehensive global legal order. She is currently a judge on the International Court of Justice and a former U.N. human rights commissioner. She once served as a judge on the ICC and on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

She also recently led the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. But her career began decades ago. She's of Indian descent, born into apartheid South Africa, and confronted deep structural discrimination, Allan Ngari, the Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, told us earlier today from Johannesburg.

Allan Ngari, Africa Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch:

To see Navi Pillay, who has overcome all the odds of what the apartheid government meant for people who were previously disadvantaged, rising up and going up to the highest echelons of the legal industry, not just in South Africa, but in the world.

And this really is quite inspirational and should be inspirational to every person that lives in the Global South that might come from a community that is disadvantaged that all is possible.

Nick Schifrin:

And to talk about Pillay's legacy and the responses to today's announcement, I'm joined by Stephen Rapp, ambassador at large of the State Department's Office of Global Criminal Justice under the Obama administration, and former prosecutor on the Special Court for Sierra Leone and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He was also with Pillay this morning as she learned the news.

Ambassador Rapp, thank you very much. Welcome back to the "News Hour."

Let me just ask this. What is the significance of the Nobel Committee choosing her for this prize?

Stephen Rapp, Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues: Yes, well, they have chosen someone, as they said, of great courage and vision and determination, who's been a real leader in the field of human rights and international justice.

It was appropriate that it was an announced when she was at the Nuremberg Academy this morning, where she was the founding president, in the courtroom where just 80 years ago this month we had the first judgments against the Nazi leaders. And it's that commitment to end impunity and to hold powerful people to account that's motivated her throughout her life.

I came to know her 25 years ago in the courtroom. I was prosecuting a media trial, and she was presiding against -- the mass media against the leaders of Rwandan hate radio, and won an historic judgment. It was hard fought. And that's the way she's been. It's based on the facts. It's based on the law, and always enormous respect for the victims and the survivors of these horrendous crimes.

Nick Schifrin:

As I said today, the committee called her a -- quote -- "legal pioneer." How is she a legal pioneer?

Stephen Rapp:

Well, before I got there, she was most famous for being involved in our the first judgment at the Rwanda Tribunal that found that rape was a crime against humanity. That never happened before.

And she also found that rape was a way in which genocide was committed because of the way in which it inflicted serious mental and physical harm on women with the intent to destroy the whole group, because, before her, frankly, the attitude was that women and often children and girls were collateral damage and conflict, and that women's bodies were the reward for brave soldiers.

And we didn't have the crime even talked about. And, finally, because of her, we had convictions. And since then, we have a global movement to stop this scourge against women and girls. And so that's -- for that, she's entitled to the Nobel Prize alone.

But that was something she accomplished back in 1998. And, since then, she's accomplished so much more.

Nick Schifrin:

As noted at the top, the committee awarded her the Peace Prize as it said -- quote -- "Institutions of international law are under political attack."

Just today, the Trump administration once again sanctioned the International Criminal Court, where she used to be a judge. And here's how Pillay responded when she heard this morning.

(Applause)

Navi Pillay, Nobel Peace Prize Winner:

Thank you very much. If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.

(Laughter)

Nick Schifrin:

That's a reference, of course, to Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader, last year sharing her prize with President Trump.

How much of what the Nobel Committee said today, and perhaps her as well, is about the Trump administration's policies today, especially against the ICC?

Stephen Rapp:

And they put it in their statement. They specifically spoke of the outrage of the administration sanctioning judges, sanctioning people that are upholding the rule of law, treating them like terrorists.

Now we have the announcement that the whole court, every janitor in the place is going to be sanctioned. And there is no threat of any case against the United States. And even the case on Israel is still pending on a jurisdictional issue. This court will not be destroyed by this administration.

It will survive Donald Trump and Rubio and the principles that we fought for at Nuremberg and that Navi Pillay upholds today will live on far longer than this administration that's really abandoning American principles of accountability.

Nick Schifrin:

The Trump administration, of course, would argue the ICC itself is the one who's not accountable.

But I want to keep going, because, as I mentioned, Pillay also led the U.N. Independent Tribunal that has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. And, today, Israel's Foreign Ministry released this statement -- quote -- "Awarding Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize is not a recognition of justice. It's the grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice. Now that the Nobel Commission has awarded the biggest lie of the 21st century, Joseph Goebbels is currently applauding from hell."

Of course, Goebbels was, of course, the Nazi minister of propaganda. Apart from the rhetoric, is there not a legitimate debate and defense against Israel's actions in Gaza?

Stephen Rapp:

I'm a strong believer in Israel's right to exist, and I want to see Israel achieve accountability, as it has as in its past when it is accused of international crimes, because that's the primary responsibility. And, sadly, we have seen very little of that out of the current government, where we had seen a lot of it in the past.

But, that said, this is not -- this commission, and I know Navi and I know the methodology. They were basing their findings on reasonable grounds to believe that there is a case to answer for international crimes. That's not a judicial determination. And in doing this process, they did it fairly.

And what we're hearing is this political rhetoric, a government that didn't protect its own people drawing attention to this woman who's, frankly, been courageous all her life. And when -- but when similar crimes or even lesser crimes that occur that are international crimes, there needs to be accountability.

Nick Schifrin:

And, finally, Ambassador Rapp, just quickly while -- in the time we have left, is the international cooperation that defines Pillay's career, that defines your career, that created these legal tribunals, these international institutions over decades, is that even possible today, do you think?

Stephen Rapp:

I mean, there is a lot of international cooperation, but we don't have the sort of top-down -- I mean, obviously at Nuremberg, we had Russia and the United States and France and the United Kingdom working together to prosecute.

In the '90s, we had the U.N. Security Council operating unanimously to have tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. We don't have that anymore. But you have other states like our Canadian friends, like Germany, like the Netherlands, together with countries north and south, that support human rights and that are pushing back against dictators and authoritarians.

And I think that will prevail in the end.

Nick Schifrin:

Ambassador Stephen Rapp, thank you very much.

Stephen Rapp:

Good to be with you.