UNITED NATIONS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday that eliminating poverty, conflict and undemocratic practices would help undermine terrorism and must be part of efforts to defeat it.

"The war on terrorism starts within each of our respective sovereign borders. It will be fought with increased support for democracy programs, judicial reform, conflict resolution, poverty alleviation, economic reform and health and education programs," Powell told a special session of the U.N. Security Council.

"All of these deny the reason for terrorists to exist or to find safe havens within those borders," he added.

Powell’s remarks went against the grain of most comments by U.S. officials, who have tried to discourage any linkage between political violence and socioeconomic factors.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington’s closest ally in efforts against the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks Osama bin Laden, made a similar point on Monday.

"Once chaos and strife have got a grip on a region or a country, trouble will soon be exported. ... The dragon’s teeth are planted in the fertile soil of wrongs unrighted, of disputes left to fester for years or even decades," said Blair, speaking in London.

The U.N. Security Council, meeting at ministerial level in parallel with the annual General Assembly, passed a resolution reaffirming its previous anti-terrorism proposals.

The resolution invited the U.N. Counter-Terrorism Committee to look at the possibility of model laws to crack down on terrorism and of assistance programs to help countries fulfill their requirements under the U.N. anti-terrorism proposals.