OSI Mourns Loss of Human Rights Activist Marla Ruzicka

NEW YORK—The Open Society Institute mourns the loss of human rights activist, colleague, and friend Marla Ruzicka who was killed by a car bomb in Baghdad on Saturday. Marla, 28, dedicated her life to advocating for human rights and founded the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC). OSI has funded CIVIC since 2003.

In Iraq, Marla identified Iraqi families who had been hurt by U.S. military actions and then helped to arrange medical care and compensation payments. She went door-to-door to assess the number of civilian casualties and worked with local authorities, doctors and hospitals as well as with U.S. military personnel who controlled the aid. Marla also succeeded in garnering considerable media attention and support from policymakers in Washington.

“First and foremost, Marla Ruzicka cared about the innocent victims of conflict,” said Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Institute. “One of her achievements was to find common ground between those with bitterly opposed views on the war in Iraq by serving as an advocate for those victims. Her capacity to convey the authenticity of her concern made her extraordinarily persuasive. She will be sorely missed.”

Marla had done similar work in Afghanistan. From 2001 – 2002 she worked to advocate for assistance for civilian casualties harmed during military operations.

During recent months Marla was based at the offices of the Open Society Institute – New York. A summary of her remarks from a 2004 OSI panel is available at "Pushing the U.S. Military to Help Harmed Civilians." For further information on Marla’s life and work and to send condolences, please visit the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict.

The Open Society Institute aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights and economic, legal and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.

A private operating and grantmaking foundation based in New York City, OSI was created in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to other areas of the world where the transition to democracy is of particular concern. The Soros foundations network encompasses more than 60 countries, including the United States.