Togo Leads UN Resolution on Global Map Representation

On Friday, September 4, in New York, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution championed by Togo on behalf of the African Union, titled "Correcting the map: rebalancing global cartographic representation and promoting equitable representation of world regions, particularly Africa." This resolution, passed with 164 votes in favour, directly challenges the pervasive use of the Mercator projection, which is accused of distorting the true size of continents, particularly diminishing Africa's perceived scale. The Togolese diplomatic communiqué asserts that these cartographic distortions have resulted in "lasting cognitive, educational, cultural, geopolitical, and socioeconomic repercussions," contributing to a drastic reduction of Africa's and other regions' sizes in the global collective imagination. The resolution frames this correction as an "act of cognitive justice, memorial reparation, and historical truth," advocating for the adoption of equivalent projections like the Equal Earth projection, already embraced by the African Union, as a new standard for educational, institutional, and media use. It further calls upon member states to integrate these new projections into pedagogical and administrative tools, introduce critical cartography education in school curricula, and enhance the geospatial capacities of developing nations, while also inviting international bodies such as UNESCO and UNDP to establish common geospatial standards.