CRC/C/GC/19 and understanding of the Convention and its Optional Protocols within State functions, and fostering a culture that respects, protects and fulfils children’s rights. (ii) Provide for children’s rights where States are unable, for reasons beyond their control, to realize those rights themselves by the means at their disposal. This obligation includes ensuring that reliable, disaggregated data and information are publicly available to assess and monitor the extent to which children are able to exercise their rights, for example, in different parts of the State. (iii) Promote children’s rights by ensuring that there is appropriate education and public awareness concerning budget decision-making processes and the impacts they have. In relation to budgets, this means mobilizing, allocating and spending sufficient funds to communicate and engage with children, their families and caregivers about budget-related decisions, including legislation, policies and programmes that affect them. States parties should continuously assess the outcomes in different groups in order to identify where more effective promotion is required. “With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources” D. 28. In line with this obligation, States parties shall take all possible measures to mobilize, allocate and spend sufficient financial resources. Funds allocated to policies and programmes that further the realization of the rights in the Convention and its Optional Protocols should be spent optimally and in line with the general principles of the Convention and the budget principles outlined in the present general comment. 29. The Committee recognizes the evolution of the concepts of “maximum extent of available resources” and “progressive realization” in other core international human rights treaties,7 and regards article 4 of the Convention as reflecting both. States parties shall thus take measures to the maximum of their available resources in relation to economic, social and cultural rights and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of these rights, without prejudice to obligations that are immediately applicable according to international law. 30. “States parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources” means that States parties are expected to demonstrate that they have made every effort to mobilize, allocate and spend budget resources to fulfil the economic, social and cultural rights of all children. The Committee underlines the fact that children’s rights are interdependent and indivisible and that caution should be exercised in differentiating between economic, social and cultural rights on the one hand, and civil and political rights on the other. The realization of economic, social and cultural rights will frequently affect children’s ability to fully exercise their political and civil rights, and vice versa. 31. The obligation imposed on States parties by article 4 to realize children’s economic, social and cultural rights “to the maximum extent” also means that they should not take deliberate retrogressive measures in relation to economic, social and cultural rights.8 States parties should not allow the existing level of enjoyment of children’s rights to deteriorate. 7 8 GE.16-12638 See, for example, art. 4 (2) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. See, for example, paras. 24 and 25 of the recommendations from the day of general discussion on the issue of resources for the rights of the child: responsibility of States (2007), general comment No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, para. 72, and general comment No. 3 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, para. 9. 9