The Chinese Empire was an imperial state of East Asia that existed between the years 221 a. C. and 1912, a stage in the history of China in which the country was unified under the authority of an emperor. It covers about 2,000 years of history, from the unification by the Qin dynasty to the fall of the Qing dynasty, with interruptions due to civil wars, foreign invasions or fragmentation of various states.

In 1948, the United Nations Organization (UNO) adopted a convention known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many of the rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration are incorporated in the constitutions of UNO member countries. Nigeria is not an exception.