Odious debt issues would include such comparatively wealthy nations as South Africa. These forms of debt have differing standing in terms of international law. The concept of odious debts , e.g., goes back to the United States capture of Cuba from Spain in 1898. The concept of odious debt was upheld and formally entered in international law in 1923. Stolen wealth is not addressed as clearly in international law, though Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar recently argued that in a number of nations specific legislation dealing with secret accounts has now been eased, offering the hope that some of the stolen wealth might be returned.
Creditors bear a responsibility for odious debt .
Moreover, loans authorized by Western governments during this period were provided without any realistic expectation that the funds would be used properly or accountably, or whether they would actually promote human development. One could well argue that creditors should not escape the consequences of irresponsible lending decisions. Though the issues of stolen wealth and odious debts may not have been at the center of the campaign for debt cancellation, they have clearly been on the agenda. Odious debt and debt incurred by repressive regimes. NGOs at the Cologne meetings held workshops on odious debt and stolen wealth.