Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) originate in and complement human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). The MDGs are a potentially powerful tool for progress on development, including around gender. However there are inadequacies in the MDGs content: they instrumentalise women as girls and mothers; many key areas are ignored such as conflict, security and reproductive and sexual health and rights; accountability mechanisms are stronger for developing countries than developed countries. This report recommends re-grounding the MDGs in human rights instruments.