Inclusion, equality and equity in education: preconditions for ensuring the right to education of children with disabilities

The basis of inclusive education is the right to education, recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006). These international treaties emphasize the equal rights of all persons, including children with disabilities, in all their diversity, to exercise their right to education in inclusive settings, with access to necessary support measures. Mainstreaming equity in education refers to implementing measures necessary to ensure the right to education of all children and the realization of their potential. Inclusion requires a response to the diversity of needs of all students, by increasing participation in the learning process and reducing exclusion from education. In this paper, the authors examine international practices and measures taken by states to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to education of children with different types of disabilities in inclusive settings, as well as how the principles of equity and inclusion are applied within programs and policies in the field. This allowed the development of recommendations for improving the educational inclusion of children with disabilities, so that the approximately 44% of children with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova who are not enrolled in any educational institution (Malcoci et al., 2024, p. 15) are integrated into the educational system and have access to the necessary support measures, thus ensuring inclusion and equity in education.