A/HRC/28/33 urban and rural, and different ethnic groups and genders. Today, more than 70 per cent of the world’s poorest people, including children, live in middle-income countries, but they have not necessarily benefited from the increase in national income. Indeed, recent research suggests that inequality is twice as high among children as the general population. 15 15. It is the responsibility of Governments to analyse and take into account the diversity and varying vulnerabilities of children in all parts of their territory, and design and implement responsive programmes and budgets. States parties must mobilize and allocate resources to improve the situation of marginalized and vulnerable groups of children. B. Best interests of the child 16. Children’s rights, and those of future generations, must be a primary consideration in the planning and execution of all fiscal policies and budget decisions. A rights-based approach must underpin the mobilization, allocation and spending of public resource, and human rights should be at the heart of all decisions. Child rights impact assessments and evaluations must be conducted so that the likely impact of decisions on children’s rights is understood and how far the best interests of the child has been taken into account during decision-making. 17. In particular, where resources are limited, children’s rights should be prioritized in budgetary allocations, and resources for the implementation of children’s rights should be the last to be cut in times of economic austerity. Within this allocation, preference should be given to funds directed towards the most marginalized and vulnerable groups of children and families. C. Right to survival and development 18. States have an obligation to prioritize budget allocations and the effective use of resources for interventions with a direct incidence on child survival and development. Essential interventions to enhance child survival include services for pregnant mothers and during childbirth, mother and child health-care services, nutrition enhancement measures and access to clean water, particularly in the early stages of the child’s life. 19. States must also collect and report regularly on indicators of child survival and on the resources they are allocating to accelerate the reduction in child mortality, as well as additional resource allocations they progressively invest to expand opportunities for child development. D. Right to participation 20. A child rights-based approach recognizes that children are not only beneficiaries of government programmes but also must be active participants in policy and budgetary processes. Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the right of children to form an opinion and participate in issues that affect them, and give due weight to their opinions. As the Committee on the Rights of the Child clarified in its general 15 6 Save the Children, Born Equal: How reducing inequality could give our children a better future, (London, 2012), p. vi.