OSLO: The winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, judge and former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, on Saturday called sanctions announced by the US on the International Criminal Court (ICC) “unheard of, unacceptable”.

“There is so much tension and anxiety over the continued existence of international courts, mainly the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” Pillay said via video link from Nuremberg during an event at the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo.

Pillay also lamented that “there are hundreds of staff who feel they are under threat”. “Most importantly, sanctions have been announced by one country against the judges, just for the judicial orders they issue. This is unheard of, unacceptable,” the 85-year-old South African lawyer said.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Pillay, who once sat on the ICC, was this year’s recipient of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. Both the United States, whose leader Donald Trump has long coveted the award for himself, and ally Israel condemned her being awarded the honour.

Hours after Pillay was named the laureate, the United States announced new sanctions against the ICC, provoking swift condemnation from member states and the United Nations.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would ban transactions with what he described as a “rogue court”, escalating a long-running campaign by Trump’s administration against the Hague-based tribunal.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2026