Washington, DC, April 18, 2025 – This week marks 20 years since the tragic death of Marla Ruzicka, founder of Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). Her courage, compassion, and unflinching resolve continue to inspire CIVIC’s vision: a world where no civilian is harmed in conflict.

In 2001, Marla began documenting civilian casualties from US military operations in Afghanistan. Her determination to ensure civilians in conflict were seen and their needs supported led her to found the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict in 2003, which later became Center for Civilians in Conflict. Following the US invasion of Iraq the same year, Marla traveled to Baghdad to document civilian casualties and demand a response from the US government. She and a team of CIVIC’s staff – nearly all local volunteers – went door to door documenting civilian harm, pressing the US government to respond. With the support of US Senator Patrick Leahy, Marla helped establish a fund for civilian victims in Iraq and Afghanistan, which later became the Marla Ruzicka Fund for Innocent Victims of Conflict at USAID.

Marla and Faiz Ali Salim, her colleague and friend, were killed on April 16, 2005 in a car bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. She was 28 years old. Faiz was 43.

We remember Marla, our fearless founder, whose life was cut short 20 years ago,” said Hichem Khadhraoui, Executive Director at CIVIC. “Her advocacy reshaped how the world sees civilians in conflict. From data and storytelling to tireless campaigning, Marla showed that one person can move governments, shift policies, and restore dignity to the forgotten. Her vision lives on everything we do – from amplifying the voices of victims and survivors to demanding accountability and pushing for smarter, more humane policies.

Today, CIVIC’s staff, friends, and supporters around the world carry forward Marla’s legacy.

“Before Marla, there wasn’t even a thought that militaries have responsibility for the harm they cause. Now it is an expectation,” said Marc Garlasco, former CIVIC Board member and a friend of Marla. “I know she would be proud of how CIVIC has grown and turned her dream into a reality. Marla was a force to be reckoned with.”

“Marla would want today’s rising human rights defenders and campaigners and leaders to know that if she could do it, so can they,” said Jennifer Abrahamson, Author of Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story. “Marla would be so proud of all the CIVIC has become. She would have thrown an enormous party when the Department of Defense set up an office dedicated to civilian casualties of US warfare; she had once told me that her dream was just that. But the next day, she’d get out of bed, and start all over again.”

Learn more about Marla’s life and vision:

• Home/Front: Marla’s War on NPR
• A Tribute Video to CIVIC’s Founder, Marla Ruzicka
• Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story by Jennifer Abrahamson

For additional information or media inquiries, please contact:

CIVIC’s global media team: [email protected]