South African-born jurist Navi Pillay has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law, the Nobel Committee announced on Friday.

Pillay, a former United Nations human rights chief, currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice.

The Nobel Committee was unable to reach Pillay ahead of the announcement, meaning she only learned of the award after it had been made public. She later gave her first public reaction to colleagues, who applauded her, and joked about "sharing it with Trump."

The award is widely expected to be seen as a rebuke to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both leaders have rejected the findings of a UN commission led by Pillay that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Both have also been highly critical of the international institutions where Pillay has worked.