The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Occasional Papers is a series of ad hoc publications presenting, in edited form, papers or statements made at meetings, symposiums, seminars, workshops or lectures that deal with topical issues in the field of arms limitation, disarmament and international security. They are intended primarily for those concerned with these matters in Government, civil society and in the academic community. This paper brings together existing information and experiences from practitioners and policy makers and analyzes the impact of Gun-Free Zones (GFZs) in order to determine when and where GFZs can be a valuable measure to prevent and reduce armed violence. It gives national governments, local authorities and international development and peacebuilding agencies and organizations a better understanding of GFZ in order to incorporate, where applicable, this tool into their strategies.