Addis Ababa, September 5, 2026 (FMC) — Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has pledged to work with Togo, AU Member States and relevant partners to translate the landmark United Nations General Assembly “Correct the Map” resolution into concrete action, advancing more accurate cartographic representation of Africa across institutions and platforms worldwide.
The UN General Assembly adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution on September 4, calling for fairer and more accurate cartographic representation of Africa and other regions and encouraging the use of map projections that better reflect their actual land areas.
Youssouf welcomed the adoption of the resolution, which was championed by Togo on behalf of the African Group, describing it as an important step toward ensuring that Africa and other regions are represented on world maps in a fairer and more accurate manner.
He particularly commended the leadership of the Republic of Togo and the commitment of President of the Council, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, under whose leadership Togo championed the initiative on behalf of Africa and helped mobilize broad international support for the resolution.
The AUC Chairperson also congratulated AU Member States and the African Group in New York for their unity and collective mobilization, underscoring the significance of the resolution as an outcome of concerted African diplomatic action at the global level.
Youssouf noted that the issue is rooted in the limitations of the Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century primarily for navigation. While useful for navigational purposes, the projection does not accurately reflect the relative surface areas of different regions of the world and significantly understates Africa’s true size.
He stressed that correcting the distortion goes beyond cartography, emphasizing the importance of representing Africa on the basis of objective and scientifically established realities.
In this regard, he encouraged international institutions, educational systems, publishers and digital platforms to progressively promote cartographic representations that more accurately reflect the actual land areas of the world’s regions.
The AUC Chairperson reaffirmed that the African Union will continue working with Togo, Member States and relevant partners to support implementation of the resolution and advance more accurate cartographic representation.
The statement underscored that the initiative is ultimately about ensuring that Africa’s global representation corresponds to its actual geographical reality, rather than allowing longstanding cartographic conventions to distort perceptions of the continent.
“Africa must be represented as it truly is: in its true dimensions and in its rightful place in the world,” the statement concluded.