A former Danish foreign minister has said he was “shocked” by the decision to award this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, accusing her of advocating censorship when Denmark sought UN support during the Muhammad cartoons crisis.
Per Stig Møller, who served as foreign minister from 2001 to 2010, said he had personally dealt with Pillay, the South African jurist and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and considered her unworthy of the award.
“I am shocked. She is not qualified. I was angry when I heard she had been chosen,” he told Danish newspaper Berlingske.
Denmark faced an international crisis following the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting the founder of Islam, which sparked violent protests across the Muslim world. Tensions flared again when the cartoons were republished in 2008, the year a car bomb exploded outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Møller said he had sought Pillay’s support in defending freedom of expression, believing the issue fell squarely within the remit of the UN’s top human rights official.
“It should have been obvious. But her response was that we should introduce censorship. So that it would not happen again,” he recalled.
Møller said he gave Pillay “a very clear answer”: Denmark would not introduce censorship.
His criticism adds to controversy surrounding the decision to honour Pillay, 85, whose record has been dogged by accusations of anti-Israel bias.
As chair of a UN commission of inquiry into Israel and the Palestinian territories, Pillay oversaw a report in September 2025 accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, allegations Israel has vehemently rejected.
Her appointment to lead the inquiry in 2021 had already prompted protests over her impartiality. She had previously backed a petition demanding sanctions against Israel. In 2022, she also defended fellow commission member Miloon Kothari after he claimed that social media was largely controlled by the “Jewish lobby” and questioned why Israel was a member of the UN.
Pillay argued that his comments had been taken out of context and misquoted. Kothari subsequently apologised, acknowledging that his remarks had been inappropriate and insensitive.
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.