The Declaration of the Rights of Man an Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen) is a declarative French political document defining a set of individual rights and collective rights of all of the estates as one, brought on by the French Revolution. Influenced by the doctrine of natural rights, these rights are universal: they are supposed to be valid in all times and places, pertaining to human nature. The last article of the Declaration was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante) on 26 August 1789. It was the first step toward writing a constitution. While it set forth fundamental rights, not only for French citizens but for all men without exception, it did not make any statement about the status of women, nor did it explicitly address slavery. It is, however, considered to be a precursor to international human rights instruments: