CRC/C/GC/19 of those measures. It is not enough to show evidence of measures taken without evidence of results if article 4 of the Convention is to be satisfied. “for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention” C. 25. The “rights recognized in the present Convention” include civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. States parties have the obligation to immediately realize civil and political rights, and to implement economic, social and cultural rights “to the maximum extent of their available resources”. That implies that the full realization of those rights will necessarily be achieved progressively (see sect. II D below). 26. The implementation of the rights of the child requires close attention to all four stages of the public budget process: planning, enacting, executing and follow-up. The rights of all children should be given consideration by States parties throughout the budget process, in accordance with the general principles of the Convention and the budget principles outlined in the present general comment. 27. In terms of budgets, “implementing children’s rights” means that States parties are obliged to mobilize, allocate and spend public resources in a manner that adheres to their obligations of implementation. States parties shall respect, protect and fulfil all the rights of the child, as follows: (a) “Respect” means that States parties should not interfere directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of children’s rights. In relation to budgets, this means that the State shall refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of the rights of the child by, for example, discriminating against certain groups of children in budget decisions, or withdrawing funding or diverting resources away from existing programmes providing for children’s enjoyment of economic, social or cultural rights, except in the circumstances outlined in paragraph 31 below; (b) “Protect” means that States parties shall prevent third parties from interfering with rights guaranteed under the Convention and the Optional Protocols. In terms of public budgets, examples of possible such third parties are the business sector 6 and regional or international financial institutions that might play a role in the different stages of the public budget process. The obligation to protect implies that States parties should seek to ensure that their revenue mobilization, budget allocation and expenditures are not interfered with or undermined by third parties. This will require States parties to regulate the role of such third parties, set up complaints mechanisms and systematically intervene in cases of infringement by them. (c) “Fulfil” requires States parties to take action to ensure the full realization of the rights of the child. States parties should: (i) Facilitate children’s rights by taking measures that enable and assist children to enjoy their rights. In a budgetary context, this includes equipping all levels and structures of the executive, legislature and judiciary with the resources and information required to advance the rights of all children in a comprehensive and sustainable manner. This involves putting in place measures to increase knowledge 6 8 See general comment No. 16 (2013) on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights, in which the Committee indicates that “States must take all necessary, appropriate and reasonable measures to prevent business enterprises from causing or contributing to abuses of children’s rights” (para. 28). GE.16-12638