Nobel Committee Deviated From Award’s Criteria

Now that all and sundry have penned their glowing opinions about the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and the narrative has been firmly bedded down, consideration needs to be given to some details that have been overlooked.

Alfred Nobel specified that the award be conferred for works during the preceding year which have been of the greatest benefit to mankind. Such works might involve the abolition or reduction of conflicting forces, the promoting of fraternity and holding of peace congresses.

Despite the question of her impartiality, Navi Pillay accepted the chair of the “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” having previously endorsed the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) petition calling for Israel’s suspension from the UN and its total isolation.

Israel’s refusal to allow Pillay’s Commission entry to its territory on the grounds that it was “hostilely predisposed” did not deter it, assisted by secondary sources, from concluding that Israel was responsible for committing genocide in Gaza.

To prove genocide in international law requires specific intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Israel has repeatedly stated that its sole objective is to defeat the terrorist group Hamas. The fact that Israeli forces take active steps to protect civilians from harm in areas experiencing violent conflict disproves genocidal intent.

Ironically absent from the narrative charging Israel with genocide is any condemnation of the widely embraced genocidal intention of Israel’s enemies to eradicate it “from the river to the sea.”

In terms of promoting fraternity between nations and diminishing hostility, Navi Pillay’s 2025 report fails to tick those boxes Alfred Nobel specified. In contrast, President Trump successfully pursued the Abraham Accords he had initiated during his first presidency. He established the Board of Peace to move Gaza to a peaceful settlement. He also successfully closed down a thirty-year conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan – all Nobel Prize requirements.

The Nobel Committee’s official October 9 announcement broadly cites Pillay’s career efforts to promote peace and international law. It does not cite achievement of fraternity in 2025 or an actual peace conference. Instead, the citation is a cumulative review of her international judicial involvement. Moreover, its reference to the Rwanda Tribunal, over which she presided some 25 years ago, is hardly embellished by the fact that the UN Appeals Chamber subsequently annulled certain of her decisions, citing lack of sufficient legal evidence.

When Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, the Committee secretary, Geir Lundestad, admitted that despite not having satisfied the Award’s basic requirements in the initial months of his presidency, it was believed the prize would help Obama to achieve his intended goals.

It would appear, then, that deviation from Alfred Nobel’s strict criteria also occurred in the awarding of the Prize to Navi Pillay.

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