Acknowledgements
This book is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation that I defended at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (iheid) in Geneva in September 2016. My PhD endeavour meant countless hours of solitary work. However, my efforts would not have been possible nor come to fruition without a huge amount of support and encouragement I received from many people along the way.
First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Professor Vincent Chetail (iheid), for his invaluable advice, support, and guidance. I am also indebted to the other members of my PhD committee, Professor Andrew Clapham (iheid) and Professor Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche (Jean Moulin University in Lyon), for their precious feedback and insights. Sincere thanks go to Dr. Evelien Brouwer, lecturer at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) in Amsterdam, for helping me grasp data protection law and inviting me to present my research at the VU.
During my PhD years, I have been a researcher at the Global Detention Project (gdp). My work at the gdp has not only enhanced book’s chapter on pre-removal detention but has also been a particularly enriching experience for me, both from the professional and personal perspective. I am truly grateful to my colleagues, Mariette and Mike, gdp fellows and interns, especially Agnese, Costanza, Inga, Patricia, and Romane, and the colleagues at the iheid, when the gdp was still based there, for inspiring discussions, constructive criticism, encouraging words, and cheerful talks. Special thanks are reserved to Mariette, whose profound commitment to the cause, readiness to help, share, and mentor, as well as a non-conventional approach had a profound impact on me, far beyond the narrow frames of our work together. Special mention goes also to the Ligue Suisse des Droits de l’Homme, with which I have been visiting immigration detainees, for allowing me to put my theoretical knowledge on immigration detention into practice.
I was fortunate to receive a huge support from my “spiritual support group.” Countless times your encouragement helped me continue this doctoral endeavour with a strong life force and determination and many of you have become close friends over time. This brings me to expressing my deepest thanks to a number of friends near and far, in particular to Adi, Aditi, Alexandra, Barbara, Benedetta, Claudia, Clément, Cori, Eliana, Elisa, Hala, Hidemi, Jordan, Jova, Julia, Jun, Jungun, Megan, Meylin, Mimoza, Nikita, Sam, Silvia, Sybi, and Vera, for supporting me during my PhD years and reminding me that life is more than doctoral research.
My profound gratitude goes to my family. I am particularly thankful to my parents, Bogusława and Zbigniew, for their unconditional support. Words will never express how much I owe you. I have also kept you, my dearest grand-parents, Stefania, Janina, Ryszard, and Jan, in my heart and mind. This book encapsulates the main values that you transmitted to me – strive for justice and dedication to work. I am also very grateful to my parents-in-law, Wilmy and Kees, for supporting me and accepting my constant lack of time. Last but not least, Marijn, my life partner, spiritual companion, and source of inspiration, thank you for taking such a good care of me, supporting and encouraging me on the daily basis, and deeply understanding me. We have made this journey together and you have been a compagnon de route I could have only dreamed about.
The book is dedicated to people falling outside a narrow circle of migrants who comply with the EU asylum and migration rules. “Undocumented” or “irregular” migrants were the focus of my book and, hopefully, its beneficiaries. This book shows that the EU policy targeting this vulnerable category of migrants is subject to a dense array of human rights norms. It is ultimately a call upon civil society and academic community to use legal standards to check the states’ power and advocate for the adherence to human rights standards in the context of migration management.
Izabella Majcher Geneva, May 2019