{"id":888,"date":"2026-04-06T18:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T18:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrcv.at\/about\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:36:14","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hrcv.at\/en\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"
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About<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We founded HumanRightsConsulting Vienna in 2006. The four founders had worked together in various fields and brought with them expertise in human rights, organisational development and consulting, as well as project management. It was clear to us that, for human rights work to be more effective, a well-founded, systemic and interdisciplinary approach was needed \u2013 precisely the approach adopted by HumanRightsConsulting Vienna. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Alfred Zauner, a co-founder who is now enjoying a well-deserved retirement, has had a significant influence on our approach thanks to his extensive experience as a systemic consultant who has also worked on human rights projects.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Our values<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Our approach is guided by the principles of human rights, respect for our clients\u2019 autonomy, and a dignity-based, appreciative way of interacting with them and with one another within the team. Human rights begin with communication \u2013 on an equal footing. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Human rights make sense.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\u201cHope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.\u201d Vaclav Havel <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Walter Suntinger<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Mag.iur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consultant, trainer and lecturer<\/h2>\n

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How I look at the world<\/h3>\n

Ever since I began my work with Amnesty International in 1986, I have been guided by the hope of which V\u00e1clav Havel speaks. From many years of experience, I know that human rights make sense; they offer solutions to life\u2019s fundamental questions \u2013 despite all the violations and setbacks. And they inspire. I have seen this time and time again, in training sessions for activists, within police and in a corporate context.<\/p>\n

My learning journey<\/h3>\n

I studied law and languages \u2013 Spanish, French and Portuguese \u2013 at the University of Graz. The essentials, however, I learned through practical and academic work, above all systemic and interdisciplinary thinking, acquired autodidactically and then refined through a programme in Systemic Change Management at Steinbeis University Berlin.<\/p>\n

My topics<\/h3>\n

My life's theme is the practical application of human rights in a variety of contexts: the police and justice systems, the business sector, development cooperation, the monitoring of places of detention, refugee protection, and conflict zones. I have authored academic papers on these topics and developed practical tools (see a selection under Insights). My work in training and consulting has taken me to South Africa, Kosovo, Mongolia, Georgia, Armenia, Brazil, Turkey, Tunisia, Mauritania, Yemen and Morocco, amongst other places. I have worked in five languages and am a member of the International Association of Hyperpolyglots (Hypia).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Professional roles<\/h3>\n

I have been an independent human rights consultant and trainer since September 1998, and a partner at HumanRightsConsulting Vienna since April 2006.<\/p>\n

Before\/alongside that, I was:<\/p>\n