Togo Pushes UN to Redraw Maps and Recognize Colonial ‘Genocide’
On 15 April 2026, Togo’s foreign minister outlined twin initiatives at the United Nations: a push to abandon the Mercator map projection in favor of more accurate representations of Africa, and a call to classify slavery and colonization as genocide warranting reparations. A draft resolution is expected at the next UN General Assembly.
Key Takeaways
- Togo is preparing a UN resolution urging abandonment of the Mercator map projection in favor of cartographic standards that reflect Africa’s true size.
- Togo’s foreign minister also called for the UN to classify the transatlantic slave trade, colonization, slavery, and deportation as genocide against African peoples.
- The initiative links cartographic representation to broader demands for historical justice and reparations.
- The effort could catalyze a coordinated African Union stance on reparations and historical narratives at the UN.
- The moves reflect growing assertiveness by African states in challenging Eurocentric norms in global governance.
On 15 April 2026, Togo emerged as a leading voice in a renewed push to reshape how Africa is represented—and compensated—on the world stage. Togo’s foreign minister publicly advocated for the United Nations to abandon the centuries-old Mercator map projection and adopt cartographic practices that more accurately depict the relative size of continents, particularly Africa. In parallel, he called for the UN to recognize the transatlantic slave trade, colonization, slavery, and forced deportations as forms of genocide committed against African peoples, with reparations framed as a corollary of justice.
The Mercator projection, designed in the 16th century for navigation, systematically enlarges landmasses near the poles and shrinks those near the equator. As a result, territories such as Europe and North America appear much larger relative to equatorial regions like Africa than they actually are. African scholars and activists have long argued that this distortion reinforces Eurocentric worldviews and minimizes Africa’s geographic and psychological presence.
Togo’s initiative seeks to translate such critiques into concrete diplomatic action. Officials are drafting a UN General Assembly resolution that would encourage the use of more accurate projections—such as equal-area maps—in educational materials, official documents, and UN communications. While the resolution would not ban Mercator maps outright, it would set a normative expectation that global institutions avoid cartographic practices that implicitly downgrade the Global South.
The more consequential strand of Togo’s diplomacy concerns historical justice. In remarks reported on 15 April, the foreign minister urged the UN not only to classify major historical abuses—colonization, slavery, and mass deportations—as crimes against humanity, but explicitly as genocide against Africans. He argued that only by labeling these processes as genocide can the international community fully acknowledge the scale and intent of the suffering inflicted.
Reparations are presented as the logical extension of such recognition. While the foreign minister did not enumerate specific mechanisms, possibilities include formal apologies, financial compensation, debt relief, development funding, technology transfers, or institutional reforms. The initiative dovetails with broader calls from African and Caribbean states for reparative justice, including through the African Union and the Caribbean Community.
Outlook & Way Forward
In the coming months, attention will turn to the drafting and negotiation of Togo’s proposed resolution ahead of the next UN General Assembly session. The measure’s success will depend on whether Togo can build a coalition among African, Caribbean, Latin American, and some Asian states, while managing opposition or skepticism from former colonial powers and their allies. The question of how explicitly the term “genocide” is applied to historical processes will be particularly contentious, given its legal and political weight.
Beyond the immediate vote count, Togo’s initiative may reshape discourse in international forums. Even if a strongly worded resolution does not pass in its initial form, sustained debate over map projections and historical classification of slavery and colonization will keep pressure on institutions to revisit longstanding assumptions. Educational materials, museum exhibits, and development narratives could shift, gradually altering how future generations worldwide perceive Africa’s role in global history and geography.
For African states, coordinated support for Togo’s proposals could form part of a broader strategy to leverage moral and historical arguments in negotiations over trade, climate finance, and debt. Conversely, if external partners perceive reparations demands as maximalist or legally destabilizing, they may resist, risking new fault lines in North–South relations. Observers should track whether the African Union adopts a common position, how key European states respond, and whether any pilot reparations or symbolic measures emerge as compromise solutions.
Sources
- OSINT