Jelka Glumičić

Jelka Glumičić (11 November 1941 in Netretić, Independent State of Croatia - 30 December 2020 Karlovac) was a human rights activist and founder of the Karlovac Human Rights Committee (in 1993), Committee for Women's Rights, Helpline for Women and Children, and of a sheltered housing project for the aged. Glumičić, in partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), founded a refugee support organization in 1997 that provided assistance to over 20,000 refugees. Her work included legal, humanitarian and psychosocial assistance to homeless internally displaced persons during the 1991-95 war and to returnees after the war.

In 2005, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the organisation 1000 PeaceWomen, along with a group of 1000 women activists from around the globe.

Peace for me is not just the absence of war. It is a state of consciousness, just as nonviolence is an ongoing learning process, a way of life. We create peace slowly, step by step. Peace is not the act of a lone individual. A person cannot make peace working alone. We build peace through joint efforts of a multitude, and that requires knowledge. I firmly believe that a better and happier world is possible. I believe that human rights are not merely a gift from those in power - those who have power and authority. Through my work on human rights, I have gained a lasting sense of purpose, a fulfilling experience of humanity. In this “shimmering, wondrous world” as a poet might describe it, such experience of humanity is invaluable. I know I will stay on that path for the rest of my life.