Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay criticises Trump over 'negative and cruel' attacks on International Criminal Court

This year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has criticised Donald Trump for his attacks on the International Criminal Court, calling them "completely unlawful" as well as "negative and cruel".

Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, 85, led a UN commission which found Israel was responsible for genocide in Gaza, an assessment rejected by both Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Friday she was named the latest winner of the annual award, which Mr Trump has long coveted.

Mr Trump dismissed the winner as an unknown "liberal person" who "hates Israel" as he repeated his frequent claim that he should have won for settling "eight wars".

But Ms Pillay responded by saying: "Heads of countries have a particular responsibility to spell out the principles, which is that you respect the law, you respect international law."

The US president condemned the Nobel Committee's choice as an "indelible stain on Norway" the following day.

Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu have also been highly critical of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, both of which have had Pillay on the bench.

Washington has also placed sweeping sanctions on the ICC, announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hours after the winner was declared.

The ICC said in a statement that the sanctions were "an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order".

Ms Pillay, a South African jurist and former UN human rights commissioner who once represented Nelson Mandela, was a "source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world", the Nobel Committee said.

The octogenarian called on countries to defend the court and the international legal order more broadly, saying she would like to see "collective action, not just words" from the rest of the world.

She said impunity is unpopular everywhere, and people wanted justice. The public is dismayed, she said, that powerful countries like Russia and the US are not members of the ICC but sit on the UN Security Council and can reject any attempt to hold them to account.

She faced strong criticism from Israel for accusing the country of carrying out genocide in Gaza, a conclusion endorsed by human rights groups and many experts on genocide.

Read more on Sky News:
'Don't be naughty', man told tiger
Hackers target supermarket fridges

"We just have this condemnation by the state of Israel because they are the ones that we have held responsible," she said.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, allegations which Israel strongly rejects.

International law is a relatively recent development for humanity, she said, adding that: "Justice is slow, so we must not be impatient".

But she urged people not to be complacent and to see the world a bit more like a judge would. "Don't fall for false propaganda or just repeat slogans."

(c) Sky News 2026: Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay criticises Trump over 'negative and