39. Expresses its grave concern at the continued indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas, targeted attacks on schools and use of schools for military purposes by both parties; condemns continued human rights violations in the conflict and fully supports the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine; calls for the Government of Ukraine to take steps to allow delivery of certain types of medicines, including opioid substitution therapy (OST) medicines, to improve the registration procedure and means of accessing employment and state benefits for those displaced by the conflict, to repeal legis ...[+++]lation that may have a negative impact on freedom of expression and association, to take concrete measures to prevent the use of schools by armed forces and armed groups in both government-controlled territory and rebel-held areas, and to ratify the Rome Statute and join the International Criminal Court as a full member; calls on the EU Member States to support all possible efforts at UN level to fight impunity and to conduct impartial investigations into the violent events and human rights violations linked to the crackdown against the Maidan demonstrations, and into the use of cluster munitions by pro-government forces and Russia‑backed rebels during the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, and to address the human rights situation in Crimea and other violations related to the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine;

56. Expresses its grave concern over the violence and armed conflict in eastern Ukraine; hopes that the ceasefire agreement, based on the Minsk Agreement, will hold; condemns the large-scale human rights violations in the conflict and the consequences of recent fighting; fully supports the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, and calls for the strengthening of the latter; highlights its strong concern at the fate of IDPs as a result of the armed conflict in the south-eastern regions; condemns the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia's aggressive and expansionist policy, which const ...[+++]itutes a threat to the unity and independence of Ukraine; remains concerned about the discrimination and widespread human rights violations committed against the local population in this region, in particular the Crimean Tatars; calls on the EU Member States to support all possible efforts at UN level to fight impunity and to conduct impartial investigations into the violent events and human rights violations linked to the crackdown against the Maidan demonstrations, the illegal annexation of Crimea, and the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine; calls for respect for international humanitarian law and principles to protect civilians in the conflict;

E. whereas, according to the Laws of Armed Conflict, a state which is party to an armed conflict has the right to establish a naval blockade on its enemy's coast for security reasons, especially to prevent the smuggling of weapons,

International humanitarian law is also known as the Law of Armed Conflict or the Law of War.

7. Calls for financial aid aimed at stabilising Russia's economy to be linked to respect for human rights and the law of armed conflict and welcomes the IMF's decision not to disburse the second $ 640 million tranche of a $4.5 billion loan due by December 1999;

– The next item is the report (A5-0296/2000) by Mr Van Hecke, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, on the Commission’s Communication to the Council and the European Parliament: Cooperation with ACP countries involved in armed conflicts [COM(1999) 240 – C5-0115/1999 – 1999/2118(COS)].