CRC/C/15/Add.227 page 4 Independent monitoring 20. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the delegation that a draft bill on the establishment of an ombudsman for children has been presented to Parliament in the Netherlands by a member of that Parliament. The Committee furthermore notes the conclusion of a study in 2002, commissioned by the Government of the Netherlands, which is in favour of the establishment of an ombudsman for children. The Committee regrets that no follow-up has been given to this study, and therefore reiterates its previous concern about the absence of an independent mechanism with a mandate to, inter alia, regularly monitor and evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention and which is empowered to receive and address individual complaints about human rights violations in the Netherlands and Aruba. 21. In light of its previous recommendations and the conclusion of the aforementioned study in 2002, the Committee urges the State party to take the necessary measures for the establishment of an ombudsman for children in accordance with the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2002) on the role of independent national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of the rights of the child and the Principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles, General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex) in both the Netherlands and Aruba. In light of the different institutional settings in the Netherlands and Aruba, the Committee suggests that the State party establish an independent and effective mechanism in the Netherlands and Aruba respectively. These ombudsmen for children should monitor the implementation of the Convention, deal with complaints from children in a child-sensitive and expeditious manner, and provide remedies for violations of their rights under the Convention. They should also be provided with adequate human and financial resources and be easily accessible to children. Resources for children 22. While noting that budget allocations for children are relatively significant, the Committee is concerned that in recent years, the financial resources allocated to education, child protection, the prevention of child abuse have declined, and that in the Netherlands, funding of legal assistance for children and the work of youth organizations have been significantly reduced, thus jeopardizing the continuity of services. 23. The Committee recommends that the State party pay particular attention to the full implementation of article 4 of the Convention by prioritizing budgetary allocations to ensure implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights of children, in particular those belonging to economically disadvantaged groups, “to the maximum extent of … available resources”. Data collection 24. While welcoming the statistical data supplied in the State party’s written replies to the list of issues (CRC/C/RESP/48), the Committee regrets the absence of information on the system of data collection. In addition, the Committee is concerned that in the Netherlands the statistics appear to be disaggregated by age groups to 25 years, which causes difficulties in determining the situation of children under the age of 18.