A/70/275 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights developed the concept of minimum essential levels of each economic and social right, which every individual should enjoy. These minimum core obligations suggest, in a universal fashion, some fundamental implications for sovereign debt generally, and more specifically for debt restructurings . 58. These human rights law commitments serve to remind all parties that the general principle of pacta sunt servanda applies to all international obligations, including human rights obligations, not just debt contracts. This inherent respect for all agreements often gets lost in the debates that emphasize the principle of pacta sunt servanda solely for financial creditors. Since the principle may also work as an argument in favour of human rights in sovereign debt, a comprehensive interpretation of its contents and implications is of paramount importance. 59. Therefore, as States need to be able to comply with pacta sunt servanda with regard to both debt and human rights obligations, all relevant rules of international law applicable in relations between the parties should be taken into account when interpreting international norms, as indicated by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (article 31.3.(c)). 60. These reflections do not ignore the fact that expectations of repayment still dominate, as demonstrated, for example, in the current debate on the debt crisis in Greece. Yet, more and more attention is being paid to how sovereign debt is linked to human rights. This is particularly true in the context of debt crises, where both official and civil society initiatives at the national and international level try to minimize the human suffering associated with these painful experiences. The debate about how sovereignty, human rights and pacta sunt servanda interact with each other might offer fruitful insights for the negotiations of a new legal framework being carried out by the Ad Hoc Committee on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes established by the General Assembly, complementing the six human rights benchmarks submitted by the Independent Expert on 26 January 2015. 41 IV. Conclusions 61. The Independent Expert is of the opinion that a more nuanced view of the pacta sunt servanda principle could be essential to the consideration of the links between debt and human rights. In his view, an absolutist version of this principle (i.e. denying the option to discuss possible exceptions to the repayment obligation) should not be considered as part of either positive law or of customary international law, and it deserves further discussion and detailed attention. Debt contracts exist in a broader legal and economic universe, in which the relationship between States, including in the financial sphere, and their populations is marked by international human rights law. Lenders may prefer not to acknowledge it, but they are not unaware of this link, hence their increasing due diligence duties to prevent violations of economic, social and cultural rights. 62. The increasing importance attached to sustainability as a principle in the law of sovereign debt is consistent with a modern notion of pacta sunt servanda __________________ 41 15-12541 See “Towards a multilateral legal framework for debt restructuring: Six human rights benchmarks States should consider” (http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Development/ IEDebt/DebtRestructuring.pdf ) 17/18