CRC/C/ALB/CO/2-4 establish functional services for families in vulnerable situations has led to a deterioration of the situation of children in the least developed regions; (c) The State party does not conduct assessments of the impact on children of budgetary decisions; and (d) The high level of corruption in the State party contributes to divert resources that could enhance the implementation of the rights of the child. 16. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Conduct a comprehensive assessment of budget needs of children and allocate adequate budgetary resources in accordance with article 4 of the Convention for the implementation of the rights of children and in particular to increase the budget allocated to social sectors, including to the education sector, and address the disparities on the basis of indicators related to children’s rights; (b) Utilize a child-rights approach in the elaboration of the State budget by implementing a tracking system for the allocation and the use of resources for children throughout the budget, thus providing visibility to the investment on children and use this tracking system for impact assessments on how investments in any sector may serve “the best interests of the child”, while ensuring that the differential impact of such investment on girls and boys is measured; (c) Ensure transparent and participatory budgeting through public dialogue, especially with children and for proper accountability by local authorities; (d) Define strategic budgetary lines for children in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations that may require affirmative social measures and make sure that those budgetary lines are protected even in situations of economic crisis, natural disasters or other emergencies; (e) Take immediate measures to combat corruption and strengthen institutional capacities to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute corruption; and (f) Take into account the recommendations during the day of general discussion in 2007 on resources for the rights of the child - responsibility of States. Data collection 17. While noting the collection of data on children by the National Statistics Institute (INSTAT), the Committee is concerned that INSTAT has not established a comprehensive data-collection system covering all areas of the Convention and that data collection remains insufficient as regards – notably – children at risk of being trafficked, abused and neglected children, abandoned children, children belonging to minority groups and children with disabilities. 18. The Committee encourages the State party to strengthen its efforts to set up a comprehensive data collection system with the support of its partners and analyse the data collected as a basis for assessing progress achieved in the realization of child rights and helping design policies and programmes to implement the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto. Data should include all children up to the age of 18 years and be disaggregated, inter alia, by age, sex, urban/rural area, ethnicity and socioeconomic background to facilitate analysis on the situation of all children. Independent monitoring 19. The Committee expresses concern that the position of the People’s Advocate (Ombudsperson) has remained vacant for more than a year and that the Children’s 4

Select target paragraph3