Vladimir Putin was indicted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year for atrocities committed on his orders by Russian forces in Ukraine. The ICC’s issuance of a warrant for his arrest has severely curtailed Putin’s freedom of passage. He risks detention if he travels to any country that is a party to the ICC. That is why he couldn’t attend last year’s BRICS Summit in South Africa. He was forced to participate via video link.

In light of that, many people have criticized UN Secretary General António Guterres for attending this year’s BRICS Summit in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan. Mr. Guterres has defended his trip, saying that he regularly participates in a variety of international conferences around the world. I personally don’t view his presence at the gathering as a big issue. And in his defense, he struck the right notes not only on the war in Ukraine, but also on the need for all nations to uphold the principles of the UN Charter.

What I found troubling was his public embrace of Vladimir Putin, as well as Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. A smiling Mr. Guterres was pictured shaking hands with Putin on stage. He is also said to have hugged Lukashenko. As the UN Secretary General, it is entirely appropriate for him to meet with Putin and Lukashenko. But he should have done so privately. Under no circumstances should those two vile tyrants be so openly legitimized by someone of Mr. Guterres’s stature.

Apart from the horrendous atrocities that Putin and his accomplice Lukashenko have committed in Ukraine, those two despots brutalize their own people at home, killing and jailing many at will. Mr. Guterres cannot claim to have forgotten about Alexei Navalny’s case so soon. The viciousness of the regimes they live under causes millions of average Russians and Belarusians to suffer in silence because they are terrified to speak out. In open, democratic societies, ordinary people like me are able to use our voices to check the impulses of our political leaders. All of us should always keep in mind those helpless victims in Russia, Belarus, and in numerous other places around the world who don’t have that luxury. By enabling these autocrats with our words and actions, we help deepen the misery that their citizens have to endure each day of their lives.

There are too many bad actors everywhere one looks across the globe today. Our world is crying out for strong, respectable leadership. Unfortunately, most national leaders aren’t quite up to the job nowadays. As the head of a global body that is supposed to be a neutral organization, Mr. Guterres could fill that vacuum. But to fulfill that role effectively, he will have to, with utmost consistency, speak and act with moral clarity. His actions in Kazan last week constituted an embarrassment. He should be a bit more self-aware than he demonstrated on that stage.