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539 BCE
Charter of Cyrus
Been referred to by some as the "world's first charter of human rights," granting freedom of movement and religion, and prohibiting slavery in Persia. -
212
Constitutio Antoniniana
A law issued by the Roman Emperor Caracalla declaring that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given theoretical Roman citizenship and that all free women in the Empire were to be given the same rights as Roman women. -
May 1, 1215
The Magna Carta
Charter promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. -
English Bill of Rights
A British Law, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain that declared the rights and liberties of the people and settling the succession in William III and Mary II. -
The Convention
France abolishes slavery -
Electoral Act
New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote. -
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.
