Democracy and Human Rights

Democracy and Human
Rights - Principles,
processes and procedures
for democratic participation
Overview
Keywords
Principles of Democracy
• Democratic principles is defined

• Core principles of democracy
The process of Law-Making
• Parliament
• The process involved in law-making
Key Words
Word(s) Definition
Bill of Rights The bill of rights can be found in the constitution,

it is a list of human rights
Citizen A person who has full rights in a country
Civil Society People that work for a certain cause and that
belong to a certain society
Constitution The rules that are set to control all the activities
within the structure of government or any
organisation
Governance Refers to government running a country including
the processes and structures that are involved
Government A body that manages the processes, policies and
the law within a country
Society A group of people that form a community
Policy Written statements that details a certain plan

Principles of democracy
Democratic principles refers to rules that are deemed as

important for democracy.
• The South African Constitution is used to ensure that
the government maintain the democratic principles
Democracy is based on the following core principles:

• Free and fair elections
• Rule of law
• Human rights protection
• Governance that is open and transparent
• Government that is accountable
• Citizen participation
• Separation of powers
Core principles
Free and fair elections
• All citizens must be allowed to vote

• Elections must be held on a regular basis
• Citizens must be allowed to vote in secrete
• Elections must be fair
Rule of law
• The law refers to the utmost authority of a country

• No one should be above the law, the president
included
• Democracy ensures that everyone is equal before the
law
Core principles
Human rights protection
• Human rights are the rights that every individual has

• Examples: The right to education and the right to life
• A democratic country must ensure that the rights of all
citizens are protected
• The rights of the Citizens of South Africa are protected
by the Bill of Rights
Governance that is open and transparent
• The decisions made by the government must be open to

the public
• If a government is transparent, it will ensure that the
public has access to information and is included in the
law making
Core principles
Government that is accountable
• Government structures must be accountable

to the public and to one another
• Elected officials must be accountable to the
public
Citizen participation
• Citizens participation is critical in a

democratic country
• It is every citizen’s duty to participate in the
government
Core principles
Separation of powers – In government power is
among the three branches
• Each branch can check to ensure that power is
not being abused in the different branches
• Branches have different functions
The three branches
• Legislative – It is responsible for creating and

writing laws. It is also called parliament.
• Executive – Puts laws into action. It is also
called the cabinet.
• Judiciary – Made up of magistrates and judges.
It is the constitution independent guardian.
The law-making process
 What is parliament?
 Parliament can also be referred to as the National
legislature
 It consists of two houses, namely:
 National Assembly
 National Council of provinces
 Each house has its own functions and
 powers as set out in the constitution
Video
The law-making process
Member of Cabinet approves The Houses of Referred to

parliament the introduction parliament relevant
introduces a bill of bill debates it committee
Submitted to the If needed Published In the

Public make
houses of amendments are government
comments
parliament again made gazette
If approved. If president finds

Becomes law of
Goes to the it constitutional, Published
country
president he signs it
National government
 Laws and policies are approved by Parliament which is made up of
the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
The National Assembly is made up of members of Parliament,
elected every five years.
 The NCOP was set up to ensure that provincial and local government
are directly represented in Parliament. It is made up of
representatives of provincial legislatures and local government. Each
province has a set number of permanent and rotating
representatives. The NCOP has to debate and vote on any law or
policy that affects provincial or local government.
 The President is elected by Parliament and appoints a Cabinet of

Ministers. They act as the executive committee of government and
each Minister is the political head of a government department.
Provincial government
 There are nine provincial governments. Every province

has a Legislature made up of between 30 and 90
members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs). Some
provincial laws are approved by Legislatures. The
Legislature also passes a provincial budget every year.
Legislatures are elected in provincial elections that are
held with national elections, every five years.
Local government
 The whole of South Africa is divided into local municipalities. Each
municipality has a council where decisions are made and
municipal officials and staff who implement the work of the
municipality.
 The Council is made up of elected members who approve policies
and by-laws for their area. The Council has to pass a budget for its
municipality each year. They must also decide on development
plans and service delivery for their municipal area.
Role of sports in nation building
 Class discussion:
 What is fair play
 Factors that triggers positive and negative spectator behaviour.
 Importance of sports in nation building

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Democracy and Human

• Democratic principles is defined

The process of Law-Making

Bill of Rights The bill of rights can be found in the constitution,

Policy Written statements that details a certain plan

Democratic principles refers to rules that are deemed as

Democracy is based on the following core principles:

Free and fair elections

• All citizens must be allowed to vote

• The law refers to the utmost authority of a country

• Human rights are the rights that every individual has

Governance that is open and transparent

• The decisions made by the government must be open to

Government that is accountable

• Government structures must be accountable

• Citizens participation is critical in a

The three branches

• Legislative – It is responsible for creating and

Member of Cabinet approves The Houses of Referred to

Submitted to the If needed Published In the

If approved. If president finds

 The President is elected by Parliament and appoints a Cabinet of

 There are nine provincial governments. Every province

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