Sahr Muhammedally, senior program manager for the Middle East and Asia, briefed the House of Representative’s Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Oct 6, 2016, on the humanitarian concerns related to the expected upcoming military operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the self-styled Islamic State. Her remarks and recommendations on how to better…
KIRKUK, Iraq—Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Kurdish Peshmerga, the U.S.-led coalition, and other pro-government forces are all stepping up their planning here in the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and Daesh in Arabic. But defeating ISIS also means prioritizing civilian protection before retaking populated areas. Protecting civilians and their…
It’s been 11 years on Saturday since we lost Marla, our founder and, still, pole star for the Center for Civilians in Conflict.
When Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) was founded as Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict in 2003, it was as a one-woman mission to get recognition for the victims of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marla Ruzicka believed that the US government should not walk away from the unintended victims of their military…
In the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and associated Sunni armed opposition groups, the United States should ensure its security assistance to the embattled Iraqi government rests on clear commitment on civilian protection for all Iraqis. There is a strategic imperative for the Iraqi government to prioritize civilian protection to…
By Sahr Muhammedally When the US military was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, it had no plan for addressing civilian casualties despite following rules prohibiting disproportionate or deliberate attacks on civilians. Eventually, commanders in those theaters recognized they needed to change course, by acknowledging, investigating, and offering assistance to those harmed through ex-gratia monetary…
How much is a life worth? While it’s impossible to put a price on life, there is an important conversation to be had around the various levels of payment offered to victims of violence in response to their losses. This report—the product of collaboration between the Amsterdam International Law Clinic at the University of Amsterdam…
Arifa had lost nearly everything when Marla Ruzicka walked through the door and into her life. The American intervention in Afghanistan had started just weeks before. A US bomb missed its target by three miles and landed instead on Arifa’s home, leaving her a widow at the age of 30. She buried her husband, eldest…
The Afghanistan and Iraq wars taught the United States painful lessons about the need to limit harm to civilians and compensate victims for their suffering. Now Washington must turn that ad hoc progress into a permanent policy, followed not only by its military but also by those of its partners as well. Read the article in…