HC Reaction to Navi Pillay receiving the Nobel peace prize

Human rights, usually we have many things to say and very often they are not positive.

But today is a moment, I have to say, if you walk around in this building, there is emotion, there is happiness, there is a great, great joy that one of ours has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

So I really warmly congratulate my sister, my bigger sister, Navi Pillai, on this fantastic, on this absolutely fantastic award.

It's to say it is well deserved is a total understatement.

And especially at a time when human rights are under attack on so many fronts, including from those who wield enormous power, this award is particularly poignant.

It is an award to all those who, around the world, dedicate their lives to the defence of human rights, often at great risk to their security.

This award to Nervi Pillai is a recognition, a reaffirmation that human rights, the rule of law, and justice and accountability are fundamental to everything, to peace, to security and prosperity.

In fact, Navi embodies international law.

As you know, she was a judge in South Africa and then she became a charge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, of the of the International Criminal Court, but also of the now of the International Court of Justice.

So she really is the embodiment of international law and at the heart of that international law is international law and international humanitarian law.

And it's a fantastic recognition of not only what she embodies, but also of her as a person, as a very warm person, as someone who has touched many of the lives of my colleagues.

I I just heard a number of testaments to that as a, as a strong defender of women's rights, as a feminist and as someone who deeply cares about about this world and the people in this world.

So on behalf of all the colleagues here at the UN Human Rights Office, a very warm welcome, very warm congratulations.

And a big thank you to Navi.

You continue to inspire us and millions of others around the world, and we will prevail.

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We have time for a few questions.

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Should we take three at a time then?

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Thank you for Spanish news was the first to declare that there has been committed a genocide in Palestine.

How important is this price for this conflict and the Palestinian Well, obviously Navy pile is an eminent, eminent jurist.

So when she pronounces herself on questions of international law, it carries weight.

And it it, it is a recognition not only of what she did in relation to Palestine, but frankly what she did in relation to so many other conflicts and and and situations around the world.

I mean, she was also the one, in the context of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, to look at rape as part of what Chenoside represents.

So I think we need to acknowledge and recognise and deeply appreciate and value the work that she has done all around the world on so many fronts with international law at its core.

Agency High Commissioner, you mentioned it.

She used to be a judge at the ICC.

Do you consider it as well as an award for a strong signal towards the institution?

As you see, after the attacks in the sanctions by the USI have to say, the fact that the Nobel Award committee decided to give this to Navi Pillai is a collective win for human rights, but also for the for seeking justice and accountability in this world.

And it's clear that we need the International Criminal accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court.

And it's clear that this is a very strong signal that this is absolutely critical in today's world when we see so many violations occur everywhere.

And then Jamie has sent me a question that he's kindly asked me to read out.

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The question from Associated Press acquisition.

What does this mean for the UN Human Rights office, the Human Rights Council and efforts at accountability for things like crimes in the OPT?

Well, it's clear we all know this.

We human rights these days is in a very difficult geopolitical whirlwind.

We see a lot of attacks against the human rights framework, against the Council, against my office, against special rapporteurs, against International Criminal Court.

So these attacks unfortunately have become a little bit of a fashion, but we also see a lot of support.

Just my own reappointment showed that support.

But also frankly, the fact that a former High Commissioner for human Rights, a former judge, former of the International Criminal Court is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is a huge recognition.

And in a way shows, as I said, it's a collective win for human rights and for accountability.

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Alright, And the last one, sorry, I'm wondering if you see this in any way as a repulse to President.

I mean I see it as a positive recognition of someone who has served not only as an anti apartheid activist in South Africa, as a feminist, someone who has served her country, her people in with full integrity over her whole life, as I said in South Africa, but then also in a very important international career.

As an international judge, emphasising rule of law, emphasising international or showing the importance of demonstrating the importance of international law to the world is a huge very important.