South African human rights lawyer and judge Navi Pillay, the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said political pressure should not dictate international justice while discussing the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Africa in an interview with France 24.
France 24 published the interview Nov. 5 and described it as an exclusive conversation. The program preview linked Pillay’s argument to Donald Trump’s targeting of the court and raised the implications for Africa.
The U.S. Treasury Department added the ICC to its sanctions list Oct. 9. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Pillay as its 2026 recipient on the same date. The ICC said the sanctions were intended to interfere with its judicial work and discourage people from working with the court. U.S. sanctions had previously targeted ICC personnel, according to EconoTimes’ earlier coverage.
General License 13 allows certain transactions connected to continuing or winding down the court’s operations, subject to exceptions. Its listed categories include payments from member states, staff salaries and routine services, subject to the license’s exceptions. The license is scheduled to expire at 12:01 a.m. ET on April 7, 2027.
Pillay had also criticized the sanctions in a France 24 interview published Oct. 21, calling them “a shock” and “unacceptable.” She said she had traveled to The Hague to show solidarity with ICC staff, as EconoTimes previously reported.
In that earlier coverage, Pillay defended the U.N. commission of inquiry she chaired, saying it found Israel committed genocide in Gaza after careful consideration. She also rejected claims that the ICC singles out African countries, a question tied to the latest interview’s focus on Africa and international justice.
