Blogger’s Note: I was told decades ago that Eurocentric racism manifests even as far as the drawing of world maps. Africa, that continent and people the Europeans ruthlessly exploited over the last 500-years, is always depicted as a smaller land-mass, apparently to give the false impression Europe is equal or bigger in size. Factually – this is completely incorrect. Well, it seems that the UN has finally got round to doing something about – but let us take a moment to assess the vote – which ended with 164 declaring “YES” with 1 declaring “NO” – and 6 “Abstaining”. Abstaining is a method used by a country so as not to appear directly responsible for being “for” or “against” a proposal. Abstaining is often a “protest” in disguise. The far-right US openly voted “NO” – with many surprised that Trump II chose this hill to die-on. Even the lunatic (and thoroughly “racist”) Zionists choice to fly with the flock on this occasion. Who “ABSRAINED”? Well, this list looks like a “Whose Who” of post-Soviet Neo-Nazi regimes. The names are as “bleak” as the geographical places they represent. Here is the list:
Estonia
Georgia
Lithuania
Moldova
Serbia
Ukraine
Serbia and possibly Moldova are disappointments – as I know many leftists living in those countries – but we live in interesting times. Look how the US and Ukraine agree that changing the world map so that it is accurate – is considered “a problem” – which is ironic considering Trump’s penchant for randomly changing world names (for no discernible reason). Just sit with that for a moment – “reality” and its accurate reporting – is a “problem”. For many, this trajectory sums-up the far-right’s deficient approach to reasoning and reality. Even though Russia agreed to alter the map – Serbia contradicted this stance – and I think this is the greatest sadness of this entire affair. Come on Serbia – I expect greater things of you. To be fair, when world maps were being first developed, it was difficult to conceive the real scale and shape of land-masses – although many cartographers got very close – considering the limitations. I am not convinced “a wrong-sized Africa” was a deliberate racist endeavour. I mean, why bother doing something this petty or ridiculous? Explorers literally used a quill and drew what they saw whilst leaning over the side of a ship (we collectively owe these people so much – with the caveat that the East possessed its map-makers as well). Old maps of the UK look “like the UK” – although the shape is highly distorted whilst remaining mostly correct (the general idea can be worked with). Remember, there was no viewing from high above, except for the odd hill. Let accuracy reign. As regards the UN – it vary rarely condemns the US or Israel for the crimes those regimes routinely commit (the UN has ruled that Israel is committing “Genocide” in Gaza – but only after South Africa initiated legal action against Tel Aviv) – and when both these countries illegally attacked Iran – the UN criticised Iran for daring to “defend itself”. When the US bombed a school and murdered 168 school-girls (more than the number of countries that voted for the map-change) – the UN said “nothing”. When the US bombed a wedding in Iran – the UN said “nothing”. It would seem that the “moral compass” of the UN needs fixing. ACW (5.9.2026)
UN tells the world: Stop making Africa look small
4 September 2026 Culture and Education
The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to encourage governments, schools and tech companies worldwide to stop using maps that make Africa look far smaller than it really is.
By 164 votes to one, Member States on Friday endorsed a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents – the culmination of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection, still the most widely used map in the world.
The United States cast the sole vote against, dismissing the initiative as part of a “radical ideological project.”
Six countries – Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine – abstained.
The resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or impose a replacement. Instead, it encourages governments, schools, international organizations and technology companies to use the Equal Earth projection and other so-called equal-area maps when relative size matters, and to teach the limitations of any flat map in representing a spherical planet.
Behind that seemingly technical debate lies a larger argument about history and power: whether a map designed for European sailors in the 16th century has, over generations, distorted not only geography but perceptions of a whole, vast and complex continent.
“Maps shape our understanding of the world,” Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign minister, said before the vote. “They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.”
Made small
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer, devised his projection in 1569 to solve a practical problem of maritime navigation. Because straight lines on his map correspond to constant compass directions, sailors could use it to plot their courses.
But preserving direction came at the expense of area. Landmasses appear increasingly enlarged the farther they are from the Equator.
Greenland, for instance, can look roughly comparable in size to Africa, even though Africa is about 14 times larger. Northern Europe and North America are similarly magnified, relative to equatorial regions.
Despite its original navigational purpose, Mercator remains common in educational, media, digital and official materials. The resolution says those distortions have contributed to the “symbolic minimization” of Africa and perpetuated an unbalanced view of the world.
‘A fair map’
Togo led negotiations on behalf of the African group, building on a campaign backed by the African Union.
The resolution describes correcting such distortions as an act of “cognitive justice and memorial reparation” and points to Equal Earth, developed in 2018, as a projection that more accurately represents relative size.
Mr. Dussey emphasized that the effort was not meant to condemn Mercator, whose usefulness for navigation he acknowledged, or to impose a single projection.
“A fair map does not change the geography of the world, it changes how we see the world,” he said.
Washington objects
The United States saw something far more political in the effort.
“This resolution mocks the work and purpose of this institution,” the American representative said, arguing that what was presented as an innocuous attempt to update cartographic proportions was part of “the much larger and more radical ideological project it belongs to.”
The representative singled out the resolution’s references to reparations and “cognitive justice,” calling initiatives like it “barnacles on our work here and the reason this institution is losing its credibility.”
France moved in the opposite direction. Hours before the vote, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Paris was planning to abandon Mercator for its maps of the world, aligning his Government with the broader effort championed by the African Union.
The shift means France itself, like the United States and Russia, will appear smaller relative to equatorial countries.
It illustrates the unusual dynamics of this decades-long debate. Equal-area maps do not make Africa larger; they remove the exaggeration Mercator gives landmasses closer to the poles.
Borderline revolt
Ukraine said it supported efforts to correct historical distortions affecting Africa and other parts of the Global South but objected to the way some maps using Equal Earth depict Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.
Its representative warned that endorsing the projection without adequate safeguards could open a “Pandora’s box,” allowing maps to create ambiguity over disputed territories.
The European Union supported the resolution but addressed the same concern.
Speaking on behalf of the bloc, Ireland stressed that the measure applied only to the relative size of landmasses and had no bearing on sovereignty, territorial status or internationally recognized borders.
The bloc also said its support did not constitute an endorsement of the maps displayed on the Equal Earth website.
Imperfect view
The resolution itself acknowledges a fundamental problem that no vote can solve. No projection can perfectly reproduce the curved surface of the Earth on a plane. Each sacrifice something – area, shape, distance or direction – and each is suited to different purposes.
The measure is nonbinding, and Mercator is not disappearing into the library vaults, never to be seen again.
But Friday’s vote gave near unanimous international backing to an argument which many African governments have increasingly pressed: that the choices we make over maps can shape how generations understand the world.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 