A/HRC/41/51 A/70/275). Sovereign debt workouts must not lead to violations of economic or social rights or prevent the attainment of internationally agreed development goals. UNCTAD has observed in this regard that “full debt sustainability is only achieved when debt service does not entail intolerable sacrifices for the well-being of society”.66 Activities of vulture funds undermine the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals 76. Lawsuits brought by vulture funds may slow down the progress made by both developed and developing countries in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals. Successful implementation of Goal 17 to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development requires strengthening domestic resource mobilization and assisting States in attaining long-term debt sustainability. That implies “coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and addressing the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress” (target 17.4). IX. Strengthening a human rights-based approach 77. Vulture funds take advantage of the lack of adequate regulation of a financial system that has traditionally been based on purely commercial interests and foreign to human rights-based approaches and concerns. Although relevant actions have been undertaken in previous years and human rights monitoring bodies have provided some valuable guidance in striking a better balance between the different interests at stake, human rights should be further mainstreamed in debt crisis contexts. 78. The international community should work to provide the basis for shaping a more coherent framework, where both commercial interests and human rights concerns are accommodated. Human rights law sets out a number of standards that are applicable in such contexts and provides guidance to States, both individually and at the international level, on how to tackle the negative impact of the activities of vulture funds. Recent developments also require that the linkages between an enhanced capacity of States to fulfil economic, social and cultural rights and sustainable development be strengthened.67 International level 79. The adverse impact of the activities of vulture funds on human rights cannot be tackled effectively in an isolated or partial manner. States are expected to cooperate in good faith in the process leading to the establishment of an international mechanism for sovereign debt restructuring. In that context, they should ensure that the obligation to service their debts does not lead to derogating from the minimum core obligations relating to economic and social rights. The process of restructuring should aim to reach an agreement that enables States to service their debts without compromising their capacity to fulfil their human rights obligations (A/HRC/20/23 and Corr.1, annex, principle 18). National level 80. States should undertake concrete steps aimed at regulating the disruptive litigation of vulture funds concerning sovereign debt. National laws should thus expressly exclude the possibility of seizing development cooperation funds and of undertaking litigation against States in debt distress. It is a good practice to limit the value of the claim to the discounted price originally paid by the creditor. In addition, States should ensure that vulture funds domiciled in their territory or operating in their jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations (A/HRC/17/31, annex, principle 3). 68 Domestic regulations 66 67 68 16 UNCTAD, “Sovereign debt workouts: going forward. Roadmap and guide”, p. 24. See, Tahmina, Karimova, Human Rights and Development in International Law (Routledge, 2016). See also Human Rights Council resolution 26/9.