Rights+of+Sentience

=18R Rights of Sentience uv Galactic Constitution=

[|Wiki Rights of Sentience]

The [|Rights of Sentience] was one of the best-known clauses of the Galactic Constitution. It spoke out [|against] [|speciesism] and set out the rights that all members of the [|Galactic Republic] were entitled to, including these:
 * The formal outlawing of [|slavery].
 * The declaration that all sentient lifeforms were equal, and should be treated as such.
 * All Republic citizens were entitled to all rights enshrined in the Constitution, including suffrage, protection from undue hardships, etc.

When the Constitution was written in [|25,053 BBY], the Rights of Sentience was one of the most radical sections of it. However, throughout its history, the Republic was hard-pressed to enforce the Rights, especially in its outlying regions. In the [|New Order], it was replaced with [|Human High Culture]. The Rights were still practiced by the [|Rebel Alliance] in defiance of the [|Empire] and was reinstated when the [|New Republic Common Charter] was drafted. [|Senate Resolution 54.325] most likely helped enforce the law. After [|Admiral] [|Daala] weakened Human High Culture, it can be presumed that the Rights found a place in the [|Imperial Charter]. It is not known how the [|Galactic Republic] determined which species were sentient. Such proved a problem for the [|droid rights movement], as [|droid sentience] was questionable at best.

Behind the scenes
The Rights of Sentience is similar to the real-world [|Magna Carta], or the [|English Bill of Rights]. Considering that the Galactic Constitution was in large part inspired by the [|United States Constitution], it can be assumed that the Rights of Sentience is the in-universe equivalent of the [|United States Bill of Rights]. The laws enshrined within the Rights bear resemblance to the real world [|Emancipation Proclamation], [|Reconstruction Amendments] ([|13th], [|14th] and [|15th]) and [|Civil Rights Act of 1964].