A spokeswoman for Uganda's parliament said lawmakers passed a bill on Friday allowing for the life imprisonment of people who carry out "aggravated homosexuality," USA TODAY reported.
People convicted of homosexual acts with minors, specifically "recruiting" young people into gay lifestyles, will face the possibility of receiving the harsh punishment.
The bill must be signed by President Yoweri Museveni to officially become law.
Though it does not include the death penalty, it was originally added in the legislation when introduced to parliament in 2010 and dropped after Uganda's commitment to follow United Nation's convention against capital punishment.
"The removal of the death penalty is a concession, but life imprisonment and a raft of other alarming provisions remain," said Maria Burnett, senior researcher in the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "President Museveni should reject the bill and send a clear message that Uganda doesn't stand for this type of intolerance and discrimination."
According to the parliament's Twitter feed, lawmaker Fox Odoi plans on challenging the legislation in court.
"Two members on the committee which drafted the bill opposed it and wrote a minority report," said parliament spokesman Mohammed Katamba.
Leaders around the world have criticized the law as "draconian," including President Barack Obama who called it "odious."
Aster van Kregten, Deputy Africa Director at Amnesty International, fiercely condemned the government for passing the law and called for it's immediate removal.
"President Museveni must veto this wildly discriminatory legislation, which amounts to a grave assault on human rights and makes a mockery of the Ugandan constitution," said van Kregten.
"Passing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was a retrograde step for Uganda's Parliament, which has made some important progress on human rights in recent years, including criminalizing torture. It flies in the face of the Ugandan government's stated commitment to ensure all legislation complies with human rights."
