AU Commission (AUC) Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the resolution marked an important step towards ensuring that maps accurately represent the relative surface areas of Africa and other regions.
Togo championed the resolution on behalf of the African Group at the UN.
Youssouf commended Togo’s leadership and Togo Council of Ministers President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé for supporting the initiative and helping to secure broad international backing.
Youssouf also congratulated AU Member States and the African Group in New York for maintaining a united position during the campaign.
The resolution challenges the continued widespread use of the Mercator projection, which was designed during the 16th century primarily for maritime navigation.
While useful for navigation, the Mercator projection does not accurately represent the relative surface areas of continents. The resulting distortion makes Africa appear considerably smaller than Africa’s actual geographical size.
The AUC said the initiative extended beyond cartography and supported the representation of Africa through objective and scientifically established information.
Youssouf encouraged international institutions, education systems, publishers and digital platforms to progressively adopt map projections that provide a more accurate representation of land areas.
A shift towards more accurate maps could influence how Africa’s geography is presented in classrooms, publications, official documents and digital services.
The AUC said fair cartographic representation was important because maps shape perceptions of the continent’s geographical scale and position in the world.
Africa’s actual dimensions should therefore be reflected when institutions select maps for educational, official or public use.
The AUC will continue working with Togo, AU Member States and relevant partners to support implementation of the initiative. “Africa must be represented as it truly is: in its true dimensions and in its rightful place in the world,” Youssouf said.
–AU/ChannelAfrica–
