New Zealand moved up two positions this year to rank 11th overall in the HRI 2009. Its best performance was in Pillar 4 (Protection and International Law), where it climbed six positions to 8th, followed by Pillar 2 (Prevention, risk reduction and recovery), where it ranked 10th, and Pillar 1 (Responding to needs) and Pillar 5 (Learning and accountability), where it ranked 11th. New Zealand was 14th in Pillar 3 (Working with humanitarian partners), consistent with its position in the HRI 2008. In terms of generosity and burden sharing, New Zealand ranked 9th in comparison to its peers.

The country received top ranking in indicators for commitment to saving lives and maintaining human dignity, funding decisions based on needs assessments, support not affected by other crises, funding IFRC and ICRC appeals, and support for the transition between relief, recovery and development. It also did well in indicators for protection and flexibility of funding, with a 2nd place ranking in flexibility of funding, conducting evaluations, and accountability towards affected populations, 3rd place in un-earmarked funding, 5th place in supporting the needs of internally displaced persons and in implementing human rights law, and 6th position in facilitating safe humanitarian access.

These are in contrast to its 22nd ranking in supporting needs of refugees, its 19th place in terms of reliability, transparency of funding and decision-making processes, supporting government and local authorities’ response responsibilities and longer-term funding arrangements, and its 17th place for strengthening humanitarian response capacity. New Zealand rated generally above the overall donor average in all crises studied.
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