UN chief says he hopes Thailand will honor king's human rights legacy

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attends a voting session on the Paris U.N. COP 21 Climate Change agreement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he hoped Thailand will honor King Bhumibol Adulyadej's legacy of commitment to universal values and respect for human rights, his spokesman said in a statement following the king's death on Thursday. King Bhumibol, who reigned for seven decades, died in hospital at age 88. In 2006, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Development Programme, according to Ban's statement. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)