February 10, 2010: New Zealand listed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

New Zealand designated the Islamic Resistance (I.R.), or the so-called military wing of Hezbollah, as a terrorist entity on October 11, 2010. The New Zealand police released a “Statement of Case to Designate Lebanese Hezbollah’s Military Wing” to accompany the designation and demonstrate that I.R. met the criteria for designation pursuant to New Zealand’s Terrorist Suppression Act 2002.

The New Zealand police justified designating the I.R. as a terrorist entity because in the prior “four years, [it had] grown stronger than it [had] ever been before and arguably currently poses the greatest security threat to the region.” Nevertheless, it stopped short of designating all of Hezbollah because the group “plays a social and political role Lebanon (sic). It represents a large portion of the Shia community…and provides social services to communities across the country. Given its current level of influence in Lebanese society, Hizbollah can play an important role…in ensuring Lebanon does not regress back into a sectarian civil war.”

New Zealand justified proscribing only I.R. by claiming that it “exists as a distinct entity from the main body of the organization, and elements of the military wing are known to operate in isolation and complete secrecy,” even though it simultaneously admitted that. “I.R. reports directly to, and receives high-level strategic guidance from, [Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah and the Shura Council.” It did not list any specific threats to New Zealand or its interests.