efficiency and sustained economic growth and that women’s economic independence is vital to their role as full and equal partners for development and essential to the achievement of the Goals, including the eradication of poverty. The Commission recognizes that the achievement of the Goals requires the full integration of women into the formal economy, in particular into economic decision-making, which means changing the current gender-based division of labour so that women and men enjoy equal treatment. promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, which contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls at the global, regional and national levels; in tracking progress of the Millennium Development Goals to support targeted measures in key areas of women’s empowerment; and in assisting States, upon their request, in their efforts. 11. The Commission reaffirms that the promotion and protection of, and respect for, the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, including the right to development, which are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, should be mainstreamed into all policies and programmes aimed at the eradication of poverty, and also reaffirms the need to take measures to ensure that every person is entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, and that equal attention and urgent consideration should be given to the promotion, protection and full realization of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. 14. The Commission recognizes that care work, both paid and unpaid, and care services are of key importance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls, and further recognizes that caregiving is a critical societal function which involves shared responsibility. 15. The Commission acknowledges the important contribution of migrant women in realizing the Millennium Development Goals, and recognizes that impediments to accessing employment, vocational training, housing, schooling, health services and social services, as well as other services that, in accordance with national legislation, are intended for use by the public, contribute to the vulnerability of migrants. 12. The Commission reaffirms that gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and enjoyment of their human rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to economic and social development, including the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. The Commission notes the universal context of gender equality and recognizes that almost 15 years after the Millennium Development Goals were launched, no country has achieved equality for women and girls and significant levels of inequality between women and men persist, although the Goals are important in efforts to eradicate poverty and of key importance to the international community. The Commission reaffirms the vital role of women as agents of development and recognizes that gender equality and the empowerment of women must be achieved to realize the unfinished business of the Goals and accelerate sustainable development beyond 2015. 16. The Commission welcomes the commitments and concerted policy action at national, regional and global levels to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls. The Commission recognizes the innovative efforts by some countries in the implementation of the Goals for women and girls by adapting targets to local contexts and reporting on a broader range of issues related to gender equality and the empowerment of women than the Goals specifically addressed, including on human rights of women and girls. 17. The Commission welcomes progress made for women and girls in several areas of the Millennium Development Goals, and recognizes the importance of goal 3 in signalling gender equality and women’s empowerment as a global priority. It especially welcomes the significant progress made towards eliminating gender disparity in primary education enrolment and on increasing the proportion of women in national parliaments in some regions. 13. The Commission recognizes that increasing women’s economic empowerment is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It stresses that investing in women and girls has a multiplier effect on productivity, 4