Rights of Sentience (Earth-2356)

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 its most radical sections. However, throughout its history, the Republic was hard-pressed to enforce the Rights, especially in its outlying regions. In the New Order of the Galactic Empire, it was replaced with Human High Culture. The Rights were still practiced by the Alliance to Restore the Republic in defiance of the Empire and was reinstated when the New Republic Common Charter was drafted, with Senate Resolution 54.325 helping enforce the law.

The Galactic Republic's determination on which species were sentient was a controversial point. Such proved a problem for the droid rights movement, as droid sentience was questionable at best.

Source

 * https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rights_of_Sentience.