Dhaka, Oct. 9 -- South African human rights pioneer Navi Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law, recognising a career spanning the fight against apartheid, international war crimes tribunals and investigations into alleged genocide.

The BBC reports that Pillay, 85, was the first non-white woman appointed to South Africa's High Court. Raised in a poor Indian community in Durban, she began her legal career during apartheid.

In 1967, she became the first woman to establish a law practice in South Africa's Natal Province. She defended opponents of apartheid before moving into international justice.

Pillay was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to serve as a judge at the ...