US Stands Alone in Opposing UN Resolution to Adopt Maps Showing Africa's True Size

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution on Friday to move away from the traditional Mercator projection of the world, despite opposition from the US. Put forward by Togo and supported by the African Union, the resolution passed with 164 votes in favour, six abstentions, and a single opposing vote cast by the US.

The measure encourages UN member states, international organisations, and other stakeholders to promote maps that accurately reflect the relative size of continents, particularly Africa. Developed in the 16th century, the Mercator projection distorts land mass proportions by enlarging regions closer to the poles while making Africa appear smaller compared to areas like Europe and North America.

Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey told the General Assembly that the persistence of these mapping distortions has had significant consequences over time. He noted that it has symbolically minimized Africa and other regions, resulting in an unbalanced perspective of global geography.

Mr Dussey emphasized that the campaign extends beyond cartography, touching upon cognitive justice, precise geographical knowledge, people's dignity, and historic memory. Furthermore, the resolution urges cooperation among UN bodies, regional organisations, academic institutions, think tanks, and technology groups to bolster national mapping capabilities and support research and innovation in developing nations and Africa.

The US strongly criticized the text, with US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz condemning it as an ideological exercise that undermines the credibility of the organization. Washington argued that the assembly should focus on international peace challenges rather than debating 16th-century map projects and concepts of reparations and cognitive justice.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s UN envoy Andriy Melnyk explained that Kyiv abstained from the vote because the promoted Equal Earth cartographic projection depicted parts of Ukraine’s territory temporarily occupied by Russia in an unacceptable manner. Mr Melnyk argued that this representation violated principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.