Ivory Coast ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoue to UN dies

UNITED NATIONS – Veteran diplomat Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoue, the Ivory Coast's ambassador to the United Nations and a member of the U.N. Security Council, has died suddenly.

The Security Council began a meeting Thursday with members standing in silent tribute to their colleague, who was serving a two-year term on the U.N.'s most powerful body.

Peru's U.N. Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, the current council president, said the Security Council "with great shock and profound sadness acknowledges the sudden passing yesterday of our dear colleague and friend."

Meza-Cuadra called him "a great diplomat" who was committed to ending "the suffering of millions of people affected by conflicts and humanitarian crises, especially in his dear continent of Africa."

"There are no words to express our feelings of sadness upon this news," Meza-Cuadra said.