CRC/C/GC/19 the child should be a primary consideration throughout every phase of the budgetary process and in all budgetary decisions that affect children. 46. As the Committee noted in its general comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, the rights set out in the Convention and its Optional Protocols provide the framework for assessing and determining the best interests of the child. This obligation is crucial when States weigh up competing budget allocation and spending priorities. States parties should be able to demonstrate how the best interests of the child have been considered in budgetary decisionmaking, including how they have been weighed against other considerations. 47. States parties should conduct child rights impact assessments 14 in order to ascertain the effect of legislation, policies and programmes on all children at the national and subnational levels, especially children in vulnerable situations who may have special needs and therefore require a disproportionate share of spending in order to have their rights realized. Child rights impact assessments should be part of each stage of the budget process and should complement other monitoring and evaluation efforts. While States parties will apply different methodologies and practices when undertaking child rights impact assessments, they should use the Convention and its Optional Protocols, as well as relevant concluding observations and general comments issued by the Committee, in developing their frameworks. The child rights impact assessments should be informed by stakeholders, such as children, civil society organizations, experts, State government structures and academic institutions. The analysis should result in recommendations for amendments, alternatives and improvements and should be publicly available. C. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 48. Article 6 of the Convention provides that every child has an inherent right to life and that States parties shall ensure the survival and development of all children. In its general comment No. 5, the Committee states that the development of the child is “a holistic concept, embracing the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral, psychological and social development” and that “implementation measures should be aimed at achieving the optimal development for all children” (para. 12). 49. The Committee recognizes that children have varying needs at different stages of their growth and development.15 In their budget decisions, States parties should consider all factors required for children of different ages to survive, grow and develop. States parties should show their commitment to children’s rights by making visible the parts of their budgets that affect children in different age groups. 50. The Committee acknowledges that investment in early childhood development has a positive impact on children’s ability to exercise their rights, breaks poverty cycles and brings high economic returns. Underinvestment in children in their early years can be detrimental to cognitive development and can reinforce existing deprivations, inequalities and intergenerational poverty. 51. Ensuring the right to life, survival and development includes the need to consider budgets for different groups of children within the current generation, while also taking future generations into account by developing sustainable multi-year revenue and spending projections. 14 15 12 See general comments No. 5, para. 45, and No. 14, paras. 35 and 99. See general comment No. 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early childhood, and general comment No. 20 on the rights of adolescents (forthcoming). GE.16-12638