World needs to tackle causes, symptoms of all extremism: British PM

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called on the international community to adopt comprehensive national action plans to tackle both the causes and symptoms of all extremism.

May made the remarks at an annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly, saying that the terrorist threats facing the world do not come from one country but exist in a different space.

"These (terrorist) organizations are using our own modern banking networks against us," said May. "So we need to look at our regulations, our information sharing and using our technological capacities to get ahead of them."

"They are exploiting the internet and social media to spread an ideology that is recruiting people to their cause all over the world. So we need to tackle this ideology head-on," she added.

On migration issue, May said the international community must ensure a managed and controlled international migration response and at the same time investing to tackle underlying drivers of displacement and migration at source.

She said there is nothing wrong with the desire to migrate for a better life, "and also that controlled, legal, safe, economic migration brings benefits to our economies."

Over 140 world leaders are gathering in New York to attend this year's general debate which lasts till Sept. 26. This year's theme for the General Assembly is "The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform our World." Enditem