Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
UN Member States voted 164 to 1 to endorse a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents, particularly Africa. The United States was the only country to oppose the resolution, calling it a “radical ideological project,” while six others abstained. The resolution encourages governments, schools, international organizations, and technology companies to use the Equal Earth projection and other equal-area maps where relative size is relevant, and to teach about the limitations of any flat map depicting the spherical Earth.
The initiative, led by Togo on behalf of the African group and supported by the African Union, aims to address distortions caused by the Mercator projection. Developed in 1569 for maritime navigation, the Mercator projection preserves compass direction but increasingly enlarges landmasses away from the Equator. For example, Greenland appears roughly the same size as Africa on Mercator maps, though Africa is about 14 times larger, contributing to the symbolic minimization of Africa and unbalanced global perceptions.
The resolution describes correcting such distortions as an act of “cognitive justice and memorial reparation.” Togo's foreign minister Robert Dussey emphasized that the effort does not seek to condemn or ban the Mercator projection, recognizing its navigational utility, but rather to adjust how the world views geography by providing fairer representation.