A/HRC/20/23 accordingly to reflect the primacy of human rights. Debtor States’ budgetary allocations should reflect the priority of human rights-related expenditures. 50. Debtor States should not allow their external debt repayments to reach an excessive or disproportionate level at which they can no longer perform their minimum core obligations as referred to in section II. 51. Debtor States should avoid deliberately adopting retrogressive measures as defined in Section II in order to allocate more financial resources to external debt repayments. Renegotiation and restructuring 52. The obligation of debtor States to repay under a valid and legitimate external debt agreement must be honoured. However, circumstances rendering the debt unpayable (such as severe financial distress of the borrower and natural disasters) may warrant changes in the reciprocal obligations between a debtor State and its creditors. 53. Debtor States which experience difficulty in repaying their external debts should renegotiate these with their creditors with the aim of reaching a restructuring agreement that enables the debtor State to service its external debts without compromising its capacity to fulfil its international human rights obligations as mentioned in section II or implement its development goals. 54. The renegotiation and restructuring should be conducted in good faith and should cover all types of external debts owed to all types of external creditors, including international financial institutions. Debt relief 55. The alleviation of debt and debt-service burdens of heavily indebted countries, including through debt relief efforts (such as debt forgiveness, debt rescheduling, debt service reduction and interest moratorium), should take place in the context of the realization of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights. 56. Debt relief efforts must not compromise the provision of basic services. In particular, debt relief conditions that may adversely impact the realization of human rights or undermine development in the beneficiary State must be avoided. 57. Financing from debt relief must neither replace official development assistance nor be considered as such. Debt moratorium 58. When a change in circumstances beyond the control of the Borrower State arises, the parties should negotiate and agree on a moratorium on debt repayment. Such a moratorium should apply to the principal, interest, commission and penalties and should apply throughout negotiations on debt restructuring. Sale of debt on the secondary market 59. Loan agreements should impose clear restrictions on the sale or assignment of debts to third parties by creditors without the prior informed consent of the Borrower State concerned. Every effort must be directed towards achieving a negotiated settlement between the creditor and the debtor. 60. Where a debt has been sold or assigned after the failure of settlement negotiations between the creditor and debtor, all relevant provisions contained in the original loan agreement, such as interest rates and change of circumstances, should apply. 17