President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has congratulated former judge Navy Pillay for emerging as the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize winner in recognition of her “efforts to promote peace and international law”, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Mr Ramaphosa said the entire country was proud of the laureate, adding that she has joined a growing list of high-flying South Africans like Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and former president FW de Klerk who have previously received the prestigious award for their efforts to end apartheid and restore peace to humanity.

“Justice Pillay’s crowning as winner of the Nobel Prize allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally,” Mr Ramaphosa said in a statement Friday.

Mr Ramaphosa hailed Ms Pillay for serving “humanity with principle”, believing the world “can and should be a better place.”

The South African leader said the award serves as a timely reminder to build a society that enables human development where everyone can contribute to the country and, by extension, the world at large.

“We congratulate Justice Pillay and wish her well as she continues to participate in various platforms to secure the rights and dignity of all people,” he said.

Ms Pillay has served as a judge on several benches, including the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.

The highly credentialed Nobel laureate previously served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and recently chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Other South Africans who have won the prize include Albert Luthuli (1960), Desmond Tutu (1984), and Nelson Mandela and F.W. Klerk, who both shared the prize in 1993.