Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize despite a record of bias against Israel and defense of antisemitic remarks. While a UN official, UN Watch documented these gross breach of ethics. See a selection below:
UN Watch Launches Dedicated Webpage Monitoring the UN “Pillay Commission” Targeting Israel
In wake of the 11-day Hamas-Israel war of May 2021, the Palestinians and Pakistan, acting on behalf of the Islamic group of states, initiated an emergency session of the U.N. Human Rights Council and succeeded in creating yet another Commission of Inquiry targeting Israel and incentivizing Hamas. Whereas all past inquiries on Israel lasted for about a year, this one is perpetual-it goes on forever.
UN rules require that commissioners be impartial. Pillay is the opposite. On repeated occasions, Pillay has publicly accused Israel of being an Apartheid state. She has even signed petitions lobbying governments to “Sanction apartheid Israel.” Navi Pillay was appointed to ensure a guilty verdict against Israel, to label it an Apartheid state with the UN’s imprimatur.
In July 2025, Pillay resigned as Chair of the commission to avoid potential U.S. sanctions.
Report: Navi Pillay Turned Blind Eye to World’s Worst Abusers
In an exhaustive study published in 2011 while Navi Pillay served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Watch examined Pillay’s record in the first two years she served as UN human rights chief. UN Watch found that Pillay turned a blind eye to most of the world’s worst abusers, being completely silent on abuses in Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Belarus, Syria, and 27 other countries rated “Not Free” by Freedom House.
Furthermore, during the first two years of her tenure, Pillay issued 21 statements on countries in the Middle East and North Africa. However, of these, 9 were on Israel, the only democracy in the region.
UN Watch Calls on Pillay to Resign in Legal Brief
In February 2022, UN Watch submitted a 30-page legal brief to the United Nations, detailing how Navi Pillay violated UN rules by failing to disclose numerous of her prior statements that directly prejudge the matters before the inquiry, and calling on her to resign or recuse herself.
As the brief demonstrated, Pillay lacked the impartiality required under UN guidelines due to a long history of public statements and actions pre-judging Israel.
lacks the impartiality required under international law and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) guidelines due to a long history of public statements and actions pre-judging Israel.
Video: Why the UN’s Navi Pillay Commission Lacks Any Credibility
Video: UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer Confronts Pillay at the UN Human Rights Council
