The Nobel peace prize has been awarded to Navi Pillay, the South African former UN human rights chief who chaired the UN commission that concluded Israel was guilty of genocide in Gaza.

The Norwegian Nobel committee said Pillay, who is serving as a judge at the international court of justice (ICJ), has “shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence”.

“Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career,” the committee said, mentioning her early work defending Nelson Mandela under South Africa’s apartheid regime, serving on the international criminal tribunal, and then as the UN high commissioner for human rights, as well as chairing the UN independent international commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory.