Cuba is leading a bid by a number of countries to strip the Human Rights Council of its power to investigate and condemn violations, a move some activists warn could jeopardise the whole UN’s credibility. The 47 member states of the new UN watchdog, set up last year to replace its largely-discredited predecessor, are quietly negotiating a package of measures which will define its role. At stake is the fate of “special procedures” -independent investigators appointed to report on countries where abuses are suspected. The former Secretary-General Kofi Annan described these rapporteurs as the “crown jewels” of the UN machinery. “Our fear is that some governments are trying to sell the crown jewels, trying to undermine the independence of special procedures,” Irene Khan, secretary-general of Amnesty International, told reporters in Geneva. “There are huge stakes here for human rights, not only for survivors of abuses but the credibility of the Council and the UN,” she said.