. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

A press release from the Nobel Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 goes to a person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order. This year’s laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.

Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.

This year’s laureate has significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today Navi Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.

In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.

The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded 125 years ago. Already then, the Norwegian Nobel Committee underscored the importance of resolving conflicts through international law – a theme that has remained prominent throughout the history of the peace prize. The reach of international law expanded after the Second World War, in particular with the creation of the UN institutions. The key insight was that lasting peace must be built on legal principles, not on the will of the strong or a fragile balance of power. Additional legal mechanisms were introduced in the post-war decades, and momentum picked up further after the end of the Cold War.

However, the rules-based international order has never been perfect. The greatest powers have often evaded responsibility. In practice, cases brought under international law have produced different results depending on who is the perpetrator and who is the victim.

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The Nobel Peace Prize: Does it go to the right people?

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Nonetheless, we have seen that more and more conflicts are being addressed through diplomacy, treaties and legal mechanisms, rather than threats, violence and warfare. Leaders and populations alike have come to the same conclusion: international law is a foundation for a more peaceful world.

At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity.

And yet, the system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack. We see a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks and global respect for law and justice. Whenever might overtakes right, it undermines stability, trust and peaceful co-existence.

In awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wants to remind the world that the rule of law – national and international – underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts non-violently. Peace requires justice.

History has shown that a world operating without the rule of law is unjust, unwise and inhumane. The judges – those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos – are therefore highly deserving of our praise. But today, as these same judges are sanctioned, and their institutions are attacked, we need people of courage, vision and determination – qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench.

Navi Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict. In all the positions she has held, she has stressed the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with the rule of law. She has also helped define the relevant norms and legal principles. When the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that rape and sexual violence could constitute a crime against humanity – as well as genocide – her influence was a significant factor. In the same case, Ms Pillay was instrumental in a separate legal breakthrough: for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 springs directly from Alfred Nobel’s will. Navi Pillay strengthens fraternity between nations and – by systematically advancing the use of tribunals for peace and justice – she provides substance, direction and motivation for peace conferences in their modern form.

Navi Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time. Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law. Navi Pillay’s commitment to justice and human dignity is a source of hope and inspiration to all who seek to bring about a more peaceful world.

(Click here for the French reaction to this announcment.)

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Martin Sicard in Pressenza

When we talk about revolution, we often imagine only crowds dramatically—and sometimes violently—flooding the streets, storming symbolic buildings, and so on; but there is a quieter form of revolution that is taking root all over the world, from grassroots movements to initiatives led by certain inspired leaders—and which, of course, is not covered by the mainstream media…

To shed light on all these positive contributions emerging across the globe, in 2009, a quixotic idealist, Rafael de la Rubia, was inspired to propose this seemingly crazy idea: to circle the globe with a World March for Peace and Nonviolence; with the support of Silo and the collaboration of humanist friends from around the world, the 1MM was thus launched with a multicultural team of a dozen people who traveled across different continents, from a symbolic location in New Zealand to Punta de Vacas (Argentina), passing through India under the auspices of Gandhi.

This 93-day journey crossed 97 countries on five continents; it was not so much about physically walking as it was about highlighting, along the way, initiatives promoting peace and nonviolence, or inspiring others to take action in this direction—whether in the fields of culture, education, ecology, or politics—through marches, of course, but also concerts, theme days, and other types of events—both social and cultural.

But how was this accomplished? With what resources? It was carried out entirely independently, without financial support from any institution, without any commercial advertising from multinational corporations, but with occasional collaborations during our events and campaigns depending on the location, so as never to jeopardize our freedom of expression or compromise our positions.

Then came the 2nd and 3rd marches: since that first march had taken place without any major incidents, and with a clear desire to continue spreading these ideals of nonviolence, we considered the possibility of organizing a second one ten years later, in 2019; and so the 2nd March took place, which this time circled the entire globe: starting in Madrid, it returned there 159 days later, after passing through 51 countries and 122 cities. In the meantime, it had inspired a group of women, who took the initiative to organize regional marches in Central and Latin America; we didn’t have to wait ten years for the next one—only five. The third March therefore took place in 2024–2025, starting in Costa Rica (the country that abolished its army by proclaiming world peace) and returning there as well. All these marches followed the same criteria, while adapting part of the initial theme to the specific locations and times.



And today? Here we are!

Given the global situation marked by a proliferation of conflicts—which further complicates travel—and where the economic constraints associated with organizing an international route weighed heavily, it was decided to change the format: a march would be organized in each city, that is, between the symbolic dates of September 21, International Day of Peace, and October 2, International Day of Nonviolence—give or take a day.


To the best of our knowledge, to date, the 4th “In My City” March has taken place in more than 200 cities across various continents, which have organized activities such as marches, human symbols, and cultural events. Among the countries participating are: Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines in Asia; Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador in the Americas; Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, and Greece in Europe; Senegal and Benin in Africa…

The goal is to reach 1,000 cities, continuing this effort every year until 2029 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first World March; that is, every year during these days, activities will take place in as many cities as possible around the world. We’ve shifted from a geographic route to organizing as many simultaneous events as possible to send a message to the whole world; we understand, of course, that for this to have an impact, communication is essential…

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(Click here for the article in French or click here for the article in Spanish.)

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence: What is its history and its effects?

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What has the World March achieved and continues to facilitate?

On the one hand, opening doors at various levels to convey our approach:
To people who wield influence in their respective circles—whether cultural figures, intellectuals, or politicians—who have received the March’s delegation or participated in events and forums.

Also at the level of international institutions and organizations with which we continue to collaborate, such as Mayors for Peace, the WILPF, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Summit, Peace Boat, the ICAN campaign for the prohibition of nuclear weapons, the “United Religions” Initiative, the Earth Federation, among others, thereby expanding our networks and opportunities…

Education: In schools, we encouraged the creation of workshops, the organization of theme days, and the formation of human symbols of peace and nonviolence; these symbols, also created on many other occasions, served as a playful way to raise awareness about the meaning of peace, on the one hand, and nonviolence, on the other. It was also proposed to embrace an ethical commitment never to use one’s acquired knowledge to harm another human being.

Universities: The experience of the March has significantly fostered encounters with and among universities from different countries and continents, gradually creating relationships and opportunities for collaboration, hence the idea of building an international network of universities for peace and active nonviolence. In the case of Italy, it is worth highlighting the collaboration with the University of Perugia, where a meeting was held bringing together more than 40 university presidents and where a memorandum of understanding is currently being drafted, as well as with the United Nations University for Peace, which was originally headquartered in Costa Rica and is now based in Rome. Universities can play a fundamental role as centers for education, research, and the production of knowledge.

Culture: Openness toward other cultures and between them through concerts and exhibitions featuring artists sharing some of their works. Also, “the simple fact of knowing that there are people elsewhere, all over the planet, who are also working for peace and nonviolence encourages us to continue acting with hope.” Indeed, highlighting actions that generally receive no support and are not covered by the media opens the minds of people who, all too often, believe that their problem with violence is unique to them—as are the possible solutions.

To deepen our understanding of what nonviolence truly means and to apply its methodology in daily life.

Not to mention that the 1st World March led to the creation of Pressenza, the international humanist news agency now active in many countries.

In conclusion, it is important to highlight a key theme, a core concept of this march. This involves encouraging the digital and geographic expansion of any initiative in support of peace and nonviolence: inviting any individual or group to replicate and amplify any action, thanks to the connections made through the march. For example: a choir from City X connects with another to create a network of 1,000 choirs for peace; to facilitate the proliferation of human symbols, a guide has been written in several languages so that it can be replicated anywhere and on any scale.

The idea is to step outside our comfort zone to broaden and amplify the impact of what we do—in terms of scale, number, and locations—by creating these networks of nonviolence. To go beyond calls for peace and pacifism, which demand an end to wars, and move toward establishing a true culture of nonviolence.

So yes, we continue to take action because we believe and feel that the effort is worth it.

https://theworldmarch.org/
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