A/HRC/34/27 VI. Accountability for delivering on the 2030 Agenda and realizing the rights of the child 50. The successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda will depend on strong accountability being in place, in which Governments are answerable for delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals for all children everywhere, and children, youth and civil society have the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels. In the 2030 Agenda Governments promised that follow-up and review would be guided by the principles of universality, transparency, participation and respect for human rights, and that it would have a particular focus on those furthest behind. Access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms were further committed to in targets 16.7 and 16.10. A. Social accountability and the participation of stakeholders including children 51. Participatory approaches to accountability help generate crucial information on gaps in implementation and on those being left behind, and can thereby inform the need for course correction throughout the implementation process. They are also important for the empowerment of children as rights holders. In the Convention on the Rights of the Child children’s right to express their views freely in matters affecting them in accordance with their evolving capacities (art. 12) is specified and it is noted that States should budget for and provide contextually appropriate materials, mechanisms and institutions to enable the meaningful participation of children. 19 Proactive measures are needed to support participatory forms of social accountability, for example through the provision of safe spaces online and offline for children to prepare their views and inputs; timely, accessible information in formats and languages that children can understand; and formal mechanisms at all levels through which their input on the realization of their rights can be heard and acted upon by decision makers. B. Creating safe and enabling environments to support engagement 52. States are responsible for ensuring an enabling environment for participatory accountability, and must guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms and support both judicial and non-judicial mechanisms for remedy and redress. In the 2030 Agenda this is underpinned by specific commitments under Goal 16, including target 16.3 on equal access to justice for all and target 16.10 to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms. Civil society engagement should be protected by legislation and measures ensuring respect for the rights to association, assembly and freedom of expression in both law and practice. States should also take proactive measures to address the financial, linguistic, logistical, and technological or age barriers that could prevent the participation of specific groups. 53. Transparency is also essential. Disaggregated data and information should be made freely available in a timely manner and broadly disseminated in comprehensible formats for children and all other stakeholders. Information should address, in particular, public revenues and expenditures relevant to promoting the protection of children’s rights and progress towards reaching those children at risk of being left behind. 19 14 See Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comments No. 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard and No. 19, para 54, and working methods for the participation of children in the reporting process of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/66/2).