There is a lot of shame to go around after the United Nations Security Council failed last week to pass a resolution condemning Syria’s brutal crackdown. Russia, which used its veto, clearly values its arms sales and other trade with Damascus over the lives of the more than 2,900 Syrians killed during pro-democracy protests. China, which followed Russia, clearly fears any popular movement.

Brazil, India and South Africa should also be chastised for abstaining. As democracies, they should be leading efforts to denounce President Bashar al-Assad’s brutality, not enabling it.

For months, Europeans tried to cajole Russia into supporting a United Nations resolution that would impose sanctions on the Assad regime. Even after the language was watered down, Moscow still refused to go along.

It claimed — speciously — that it feared the United States and Europe would use the resolution to take military action against Mr. Assad just as they had against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. India, Brazil, China and South Africa made similar claims. But the Syria resolution contained only a weak reference to possible sanctions and made clear any further steps would be nonmilitary.