The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda not to sign an anti-gay draft law that was passed in parliament last week.
A spokesperson for the high commissioner, Ravina Shamdasani, said stigma and prejudice would be reinforced if the bill was signed into law.
Parliament adopted the bill on 20 December, providing for repeat offenders to be jailed for life. Despite an international outcry, politicians have hailed it as a victory against "evil".
"The government has a legal obligation to prevent discrimination and cannot withhold basic rights from certain individuals because the majority disapproves of them," said Ms Shamdasani in Geneva on Friday.
She called on President Museveni "to protect human rights and to refrain from signing this bill into law".
