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Accomplishments

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CIVIC creates real policy change for civilians in warfare, affecting the lives of thousands. Warring parties do not often hear from the civilians they harm; they hear from CIVIC.

Among our many successes for war victims, CIVIC:

  • Conducted research and advocacy leading directly to NATO approving its first compensation policy for Afghan war victims;
  • Worked with US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the US Congress to create the first-ever livelihood assistance programs for civilians harmed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. To date, CIVIC helped secure $166 million for these programs (CIVIC receives none of these funds);
  • Over the course of a year in-country, documented civilian harm and amends in Afghanistan, including interviews with 143 civilian war victims, and published the first-ever report on gaps in assistance to civilians harmed by international, Afghan and insurgent forces;
  • Over the course of a year in-country, documented civilian harm and amends efforts in Pakistan, including interviews with 160 war victims resulting in a widely applauded report and advocacy leading to a pledge by the Pakistani Government to help war victims;
  • Developed the first military training on properly responding to civilian casualties in Afghanistan-a program the Afghan Command & Staff College and Counterinsurgency Academy integrated into their curriculum in Kabul, with tens of thousands of troops trained;
  • Documented civilian harm and gaps in help, on-the-ground, in both the Republic of Georgia and Nepal;
  • For five years, trained US Army, Air Force, Marine and Naval officers at five military bases on civilian perspectives in armed conflict and ways to respectfully address "collateral damage";
  • Advised the African Union and its peace operations force (AMISOM) on civilian protection and amends in Mogadishu, Somalia;
  • Envisioned and launched a new global coalition movement called the Making Amends Campaign (MAC) to ensure all civilians everywhere get the help they deserve.

 

Click below to follow a brief snapshot of CIVIC successes for war victims year-by-year.

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 

2010

  • Successfully pressed NATO to approve its first compensation policy for Afghan war     victims;
  • Created the first training program in Afghanistan on how to address civilian harm for     both international and Afghan forces;
  • Trained US Army, Air Force, Marine and Naval officers at five military bases on civilian harm;
  • Analyzed 20,000 pages of claims documents with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and subsequently provided the Department of Defense an analysis of current inadequacies in addressing civilian harm and a blueprint for a better compensation system;
  • Completed year-long documentation of civilian harm and amends efforts in Pakistan, with on-the-ground interviews with some 160 war victims and ongoing advocacy with Pakistani and US policymakers;
  • Worked with UN officials and civil society in Africa, recommending practical solutions to dignify and help civilians suffering losses in Somalia;
  • Conducted on-the-ground research in the Republic of Georgia and Nepal, laying the foundation for our future work on civilian harm and amends there;
  • In the international community and at the United Nations, formally launched a new movement called the Making Amends Campaign (MAC) to ensure all civilians everywhere get the help they deserve.


2009

  • Advocated for and technically advised on a new US livelihood assistance program for Pakistani war victims, for which Congress appropriated $10 million;
  • Released the first-ever report on gaps in assistance to civilians harmed by international, national and insurgent forces in Afghanistan, based on a full year of in-country research, including interviews with 143 civilian war victims;
  • Trained US officers and enlisted forces, and contributed to new Army policies on civilian harm;
  • Authored the only civilian-authored article in the Escalation of Force handbook issued to deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan;
  • Documented civilian harm and help for Pakistani war victims from Islamabad, with travel to displaced persons camps in Peshawar and other conflict-affected provinces;
  • Pressed international forces in Afghanistan for a new compensation policy for civilian casualties, a recommendation supported by the commander of international forces, Gen. Stanley McChrystal;
  • Told the story of Iraqi war victims through a critically acclaimed off-Broadway drama, including with interviews of refugee war victims living in Jordan;
  • Built the Making Amends Campaign coalition with a steering committee comprised of Human Rights Watch and International Crisis Group, and member organizations from every continent;
  • Convinced Security Council delegations that ‘making amends' was an important new issue under protection of civilians for the international community, with public statements to this effect by member nations.


2008

  • Provided solicited recommendations to General David Petreaus's staff (Commander of CENTCOM at the time) for improving the US compensation system for civilian harm on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan;
  • Created and distributed thousands of "training cards" for deploying US soldiers on the compensation claims process, which did not previously exist within the military education system;
  • Directly trained military officers on addressing civilian harm, specifically through appropriate compensation, at Ft. Irwin and Ft. Belvoir;
  • Helped draft the Civilian Assistance Act with the legal counsel to Senator Patrick Leahy, in an effort to improve the US compensation system for civilians harmed in US operating theaters (that legislation is still pending);
  • Successfully advocated for millions in funding for programs CIVIC helped create with the US Congress, including the Marla Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund (named after CIVIC's founder upon her death in 2005) and its sister program in Afghanistan;
  • Pressed the US Congress to allocate $2 million to the Post-Operations Emergency Relief Fund (POERF), a response program put in place by NATO and advocated for by CIVIC to rebuild civilian properties damaged by the conflict in Afghanistan;
  • Conducted field research and in-person interviews with war victims in Afghanistan (through Harvard Law School funded research fellows);
  • Traveled to Lebanon and Israel to document the damage caused by the 2006 armed conflict between the states, including interviews with war victims on both sides, and pressed Israel to fund de-mining programs in Lebanon;
  • In advocacy with the Georgian Government, convinced Justice Ministry representatives to consider compensation for civilian losses during the five-day war between Russia and Georgia;
  • Worked with the Pakistan Ambassador to the US to explore the feasibility of compensation for war victims in FATA, and received his enthusiastic support for the effort;
  • Pressed the US to sign onto the Cluster Munitions Convention and contributed to the Victim Assistance provision developed by global civil society and state actors.


2007

  • Traveled to Afghanistan, Jordan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to assess civilian harm (for Iraqi refugees in Jordan) and recommend policies to warring parties for ensuring assistance to victims;
  • Worked with the ACLU to analyze several hundred US military claims files for civilian harm and published the findings, noting gaps in the compensation system and suggesting concrete ways to improve such amends on the ground;
  • Pressed NATO member states to develop a trust fund for help to war victims (which they did), to adequately fund it, and to ensure it worked to mitigate civilian suffering including through rebuilding efforts and urgent survival needs in the wake of tragedy;
  • Called for the UN Secretary-General to appoint a UN Special Envoy for Civilians in Armed Conflict;
  • Ensured more than $37 million in humanitarian funding for war victims in Afghanistan and Iraq. That means for every dollar given to CIVIC, we generated $150 more to directly aid those in need;
  • Partnered with the US military to provide much-needed training on compensating civilians following harm in combat, including at Ft. Irwin's training base designed to mimic an Iraqi town;
  • Successfully advocated for full funding for US programs for war victims while working to make sure they helped the people most in need.


2006

  • In Afghanistan, worked with international forces and military leadership to draw out lessons learned and improve compensation practices for civilians harmed in the crossfire, and with USAID to ensure appropriate livelihood assistance programs to help families rebuild their lives;  
  • Pressed NATO to develop a collective, uniform compensation and assistance trust fund for civilians harmed by its military operations in Afghanistan;
  • Provided input in crafting the parameters of US war victims assistance programs CIVIC helped create with the US Congress, and successfully advocated for tens of millions in funding that went directly to war victims in Iraq and Afghanistan (CIVIC receives none of these funds);
  • Closely monitored inadequacies in US military civilian protection and response to harm, and advocated specific amends policies among senior policymakers at DOD and within the US Congress;
  • Conducted the first-ever workshop among Marla Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund (the livelihood assistance program advocated for by CIVIC for war victims) staff in Iraq to streamline provision of aid to civilian war victims and communication among local staff.