Three of the countries that helped carry the United Nations resolution encouraging the Equal Earth world map have since asked for changes to it — not over the projection itself, but over how disputed territories are coloured.
The General Assembly voted 164 to one last week to encourage use of equal-area projections in place of Mercator, after months of lobbying by the African Union. The resolution neither bans Mercator nor mandates a replacement. None of the three objecting states opposes that principle.
Ukraine
Ukraine was one of six countries that abstained, alongside Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia and Lithuania, which the report says abstained in solidarity with Kyiv.
Ukraine’s complaint is that Equal Earth renders the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula in a lighter shade than mainland Ukraine, and that its yellowish tint sits closer to Russia’s colour than to Ukraine’s. Russia annexed Crimea in February 2014, a move the UN has condemned.
Permanent representative Andrii Melnyk told the assembly that Ukraine “does not in principle oppose the core issue addressed in this draft resolution”, but said Kyiv had requested corrections before the vote without receiving a positive response. Adopting the map as drawn, he warned, risked “abuse and distortion” of the world map.
Japan
Japan voted in favour but objects that the map uses the same colours for Russian territory as for the Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and administered by Russia since 1945.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan’s embassy in the United States has asked the projection’s creators to amend it. “Displays that contradict the Japanese government’s position are seen,” he told a news conference, adding that Tokyo needed to prevent “incorrect perceptions regarding our country’s territories and geographical names from spreading.”
India
India also voted in favour, then issued a caveat on Kashmir. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted that the vote encouraged equal-area projections without making any single map mandatory, and said India’s sovereign territory, “including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map”. Any “inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable”, he said.
Hiru News carried the account as Al Jazeera copy.
