YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Armenia’s Parliament approved amendmen’s to a package of relevant laws on Wednesday introduced earlier this year to issue lifetime coded social security cards that will contain information about the incomes and social security contributions of every Armenian citizen.
The government decided to rename them "social security cards" last month after the church said that attaching a particular number to a human being runs counter to the basic tenets of Christianity.
"The code numbers will be given to personal cards–not individuals," Social Security Minister Aghvan Vartanian stressed in the National Assembly on Wednesday. He said social workers across the country–who report to his ministry–will make corresponding adjustmen’s to document before the implementation of the new system on July 1–2004.
