Navi Pillay Hits Back at Trump Over Attacks on ICC

Following her Nobel Peace Prize win, 85-year-old South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has launched a firm defence of global justice against sharp criticism from Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United States president dismissed the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as an unknown “liberal person” and deemed her choice an “indelible stain on Norway”.

Shortly after the announcement, Washington imposed broad sanctions on the International Criminal Court, where Pillay previously served as a judge. The court condemned the measures as “an assault on the rule of law”.

Pillay denounced Trump’s comments as “completely unlawful” and “negative and cruel”. Responding to the political pushback, she urged nations to unite behind international legal institutions through “collective action, not just words” rather than falling for “false propaganda”.

Addressing the standard of leadership, Pillay stated: “Heads of countries have a particular responsibility to spell out the principles, which is that you respect the law, you respect international law.”

Despite the controversy, the veteran magistrate reaffirmed her commitment to human rights, stressing that “justice is slow, so we must not be impatient.”

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