Genevieve Quintal

We welcome the release of the Protected Disclosure Bill as a necessary first step in strengthening the protection of whistleblowers, who are increasingly at risk. Its effective implementation must create a safe environment for people exposing wrongdoing. The process now needs to move swiftly to ensure these protections result in meaningful safeguarding of people’s right to freedom of expression. @DOJCD_ZA @mmkubayi @GovernmentZA

[ICYMI]: The Gauteng High Court has thrown out Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza's attempt to gag News24 and journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha's (@SikonathiM) - and ordered him to pay costs. A win for press freedom. Here's what happened 🧵

#BREAKING: Trump agrees to suspend attack on Iran by two weeks

President Donald Trump’s apocalyptic warning that Iran's “whole civilization will die tonight” is a threat to commit war crimes and may constitute a threat to commit genocide. The international community must take urgent action to avert an impending catastrophe. Read more 👇 amn.st/6018B6vCDs

Donald Trump warns now that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to ​be brought back ​again." His verbal attacks against Iranian people are escalating in intensity and violence. We know that they are not just just rhetorical. They lead to targeted, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks against civilians and civilians infrastructures on the ground. How can people protect themselves against something which is meant to be existential? It is simply terrifying. Using such a brutal language is unconscionable. I thought that with the US President not being "worried about war crimes," we had hit rock bottom: the proclamation of moral bankruptcy as the new standard. And so I ask again: Where will it end? Who/what will stop this escalation which has only victims and losers, in the first place the people of Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Gulf States? reuters.com/world/middle-e…

.@DBE_SA has been promising since 2016 that it would eradicate all plain pit toilets from schools, but each year it has broken this promise and shifted the goal posts, violating the human rights of thousands of learners and sometimes resulting in loss of life. Last year, the department said that 96% of pit toilets in schools which are part of its Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative were removed. Minister @Siviwe_G committed to giving an update on the remaining pit toilets in the SAFE initiative by the end of the current financial year, which is now. @DBE_SA must: 👉 Provide clarity and be transparent about the actual number of schools still using pit toilets, including those not part of the SAFE initiative. 👉 Outline how it plans to eradicate those not part of this initiative with clear timelines. 👉 Announce an audit to identify how many early childhood development centres are using pit toilets and a plan on when these toilets will be eradicated. The use of plain pit toilets in schools violates a learner’s right to health, sanitation, education, dignity and in some cases, life.

This law mandating death penalty against Palestiniens has now been adopted, another demonstration of Israel's apartheid system and of its unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory. There is only one racial group of persons targeted by this law: Palestinians. It won't be applied to anyone else. Anyone executed under implementation of this law would be considered victim of an unlawful execution.

Millions of football fans attending the 2026 FIFA Men’s #WorldCup in Canada, Mexico and the USA risk coming face to face with troubling attacks on human rights, not least those stemming from abusive and deadly US immigration policies.

BREAKING NEWS: The JHB high court has dismissed the application by former presidents Jacob Zuma & Thabo Mbeki for the removal of Justice Sisi Khampepe as chair of the TRC cases commission. Khampepe’s recusal was supported by President Ramaphosa who had initially appointed her.

Something big is happening in South Africa! The 2025 Labour Law Amendment Bill could quietly reshape the meaning of work, power, and dignity in the country’s labour market if some of the reforms pass as proposed. There’s negatives and positives. 1/🧵🇿🇦

WATCH | The moneyman: How Cat Matlala’s Mike van Wyk charmed EMPD’s Mkhwanazi news24.com/investigations…

Students of PR: this is called a pre-emptive strike. News24 and @wicks_jeff have been promoting their “expose” tomorrow on the CEO of Medicare. Today @enca tries to help the dude to put the shit back in the donkey before it’s even come out.

We also welcome the arrest of 12 police officers allegedly linked to tender corruption at the @SAPoliceService. Corruption within law enforcement needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency so that the police can focus on ensuring the protection of everyone's rights to safety and life in South Africa. @Prof_Cachalia

We note the issuing of a court summons to National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola for his alleged failure to act against a corrupt tender. This is exactly the high level of accountability we need to start seeing. We hope that this sets a precedent for justice and the systemic reform of the criminal justice system. @SAPoliceService @GovernmentZA @PresidencyZA @DOJCD_ZA @Prof_Cachalia

BREAKING: Amnesty International welcomes the recognition of chattel enslavement of Africans as a crime against humanity at the UN General Assembly, following a resolution tabled by #Ghana on behalf of the African continent and people of African descent.   Across the world, people are still suffering the long-lasting effects of slavery and colonialism, manifesting in today’s racism and global inequality, while States and private actors profited from these historical crimes and injustices.    Today’s resolution is a momentous step forward for legal recognition and reparations for those who have suffered the enduring harms of chattel enslavement around the world.

The @UN General Assembly has finally taken a historic step: 122 nations have recognized the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity, a truth long demanded by survivors’ descendants and advocates across the world. This resolution, led by #Ghana, matters because the legacy of slavery is not past; it continues to shape racial injustice, inequality, and discrimination today. It acknowledges the brutal abduction, exploitation, and systemic dehumanization of more than 12.5 million Africans, and affirms that the world can no longer look away from the enduring consequences of this atrocity. By calling for reparations, accountability, and a global commitment to truth and healing, this vote is a powerful reminder that justice delayed is not justice denied. This resolution is more than symbolic. It is a demand for moral clarity, historical truth, and global responsibility. The world must not only remember, it must act.

In May 2025, @wicks_jeff wrote about an internal audit report that had advised Masemola to cancel Matlala's R360m health contract with SAPS. He waited 103 days. And by the time he cancelled it, SAPS had paid R50 million to Matlala's company.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola to be charged over ‘Cat’ Matlala’s R360m tender brnw.ch/21x12lF

🚨By continuing to condone the presence of clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT in Israel’s league, the Israeli Football Association is indirectly legitimizing Israel’s unlawful occupation and its severe human rights violations against Palestinians, including the crime against humanity of apartheid. @FIFAcom must not continue to ignore the International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion. FIFA has an unequivocal responsibility to act. It must also ensure full transparency and publish the legal advice FIFA received on this matter and provide the full rationale for its unjust decision.. 🔗 Read more: amn.st/6019B6XsvS #KeepFootballApartheidFree

The recent killing of lawyer Chinette Gallichan near the CCMA in Johannesburg is deeply disturbing. @SAPoliceService must ensure that such crimes are met with a prompt and thorough investigation that identifies the motives, and holds the perpetrators accountable. @GovernmentZA must ensure every person’s right to life is protected.