the Independent Commission has been given additional powers to reflect the particular circumstances of policing in Northern Ireland. For example, the Commission automatically receives copies of all complaints requiring formal investigation and can therefore "call in" those cases in which it may exercise its discretionary power to supervise the investigations; it can monitor the informal resolution of minor complaints; and it can supervise the investigation of any matter, not the subject of a complaint, which is referred to it by the Chief Constable, the Police Authority for Northern Ireland, or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. CCPR/C/58/Add.6 page 22 Torture 98. The United Kingdom has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which came into force for the United Kingdom on 7 January 1989. Torture amounts to the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, at the instigation or with the consent or acquiescence of anyone acting in a public capacity, but excluding pain and suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions. Most if not all such actions were already offences under United Kingdom law but, for the purposes of the Convention, torture was made a specific offence under section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. 99. The United Kingdom also ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 24 June 1988. It came into force on 1 February 1989. The Convention provides for the appointment of an independent committee with full rights to enter places of detention and interview detained persons in private in order to ensure that torture or inhuman or degrading treatment does not take place. Places of detention include not only penal establishments but also police stations, detention centres operated by the Immigration Service, 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be discussing the legal framework and mechanisms in place to prevent torture and inhuman treatment in Northern Ireland, specifically highlighting the powers of the Independent Commission and the ratification of international conventions. The text focuses on the legal and institutional aspects, rather than specific economic, environmental, or social issues.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, International trade