Welcome to the Executive Board: Benedikt Pirker

"The mission of the Advisory Council on Human Rights is multifaceted - it is a national human rights institution, a monitoring body for the rights of people with disabilities and an ombudsperson for children and young people. International law expertise can be helpful for many human rights issues. I hope to be able to support the VMR here in the future," says Benedikt Pirker, explaining his motivation.

His professional background is impressive: he worked for many years in research and teaching at the University of Fribourg and most recently worked in the area of Swiss-EU negotiations at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. From September 2025, he will be working as a research fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute in Bendern.

In his private life, Benedikt Pirker is married and has a five-year-old daughter. In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his family or being outdoors in the Alps - be it hiking, skiing or ski touring.

He is particularly looking forward to his new role on the VMR: "I see the VMR as an important player that independently observes, advises and also takes a stand when it comes to situations relevant to human rights - for example in legislative processes. On the Board, I would like to contribute above all international aspects of human rights protection and my experience in international law and also learn a lot from the other members."

We look forward to working together from fall 2025!