BICOM

The UK Home Office published a draft order in Parliament yesterday to proscribe Hezbollah, in its entirety, as a terrorist organisation.

Previously the UK, along with the EU, designated the military wing, and not the political wing, of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation – a distinction Hezbollah does not itself recognise. The new order will make it a criminal offence to be a member, or invite support for Hezbollah, punishable with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. This will bring the UK law into line with the US, Canada, Israel and the Arab League.

The order will be subject to a vote in Parliament this evening if an MP opposes it, Home Office sources say. In January a briefing document for Labour MPs advised them to oppose a complete ban of Hezbollah to “encourage” it “down an effective democratic path”. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has in the past described Hezbollah as ‘friends’ but said in a Home Affairs Committee hearing in 2016 that he wouldn’t use that language again.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East – and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety.”

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the UK Government remains “staunch supporters of a stable and prosperous Lebanon” and the decision “does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship”.

Hunt also said that “by proscribing Hezbollah in all its forms, the government is sending a clear signal that its destabilising activities in the region are totally unacceptable and detrimental to the UK’s national security”.

The Home Office added that: “Hezbollah continues to amass weapons in direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolutions, putting the security of the region at risk. Its involvement in the Syrian war since 2012 continues to prolong the conflict and the regime’s brutal and violent repression of the Syrian people.

The UK added Hezbollah’s military wing to the list of proscribed terrorist organisations in 2008 after Hezbollah was involved in operations targeting British forces and civilians in Iraq.

Despite concerns that a full proscription will prevent the UK Government from dealing with its Lebanese counterparts, the Terrorism Act 2000 does allow meetings with proscribed groups if such meetings are interpreted as those: “At which the terrorist activities of the group are not promoted or encouraged, for example, a meeting designed to encourage a designated group to engage in a peace process”.

In May 2018 Hezbollah and its political allies won 70 of Lebanon’s 128 parliamentary seats in the country’s first parliamentary elections since 2009, which gave Hezbollah a de facto veto over the formation of the next government. Hezbollah-affiliated politicians now hold two ministries and a ministry of state.

The UK currently provides training and financial support to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and has spent £60m in the last six years to help secure the Lebanon-Syrian border. The Department for International Development will spend £100m this year on humanitarian aid and educational services in Lebanon. The UK also leads an international effort, called the ‘Lebanon Statement of Intent,’ that offers international support for education, jobs and humanitarian assistance, in exchange for Lebanon giving refugees certain rights including employment.

Read BICOM’s new briefing on Hezbollah here.