Mr Abbott joined US President Barack Obama at the UN Security Council in New York, where leaders unanimously approved a binding resolution on stemming the flow of foreign jihadists to Iraq and Syria.
Passed overnight, the resolution requires all countries to adopt laws that would make it a serious crime for their nationals to join jihadist groups such as Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front.
President Obama led the special session, the sixth time in UN history that the council has convened at the level of heads of state.
President Obama opened by voicing solidarity with France after one of its citizens was kidnapped and beheaded by jihadists in Algeria linked to the Islamic State group.
"We stand with you and the French people as you grieve this terrible loss and as you stand up against terror in defence of liberty,” he said.
'Our goal is not to change people, but to protect them'
Mr Abbott also addressed the Council, condemning the “death cult” of Islamic State.
He said right now, “thousands of misguided people” were joining terror groups, highlighting the attack on two counter-terror police officers in Melbourne this week.
“At the heart of every terrorist group is an infatuation with death,” he said.
“Countries do need to work together to defeat it... Every country is a potential target.”
Mr Abbott also spoke on the proposed counter-terror laws being introduced into the Australian Parliament.
“We aren't just dealing with potential terrorists at home - we’re tackling their inspiration abroad,” he said.
“Our goal is not to change people, but to protect them. It’s not to change governments, but to combat terrorism.”
Obama rallies world to join fight
Earlier, President Obama urged the UN General Assembly to join the fight against a jihadist 'network of death'.
"The United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death," Obama told the UN about the Islamic State group.
"Today I ask the world to join in this effort."
"We will use our military might in a campaign of air strikes to roll back ISIL," Obama declared, using the acronym for the former Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, since renamed the Islamic State.
Human rights 'under attack'
When opening the General Assembly debate, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that human rights are "under attack" throughout the world.
"From barrel bombs to beheadings, from the deliberate starvation of civilians to the assault on hospitals, UN shelters and aid convoys, human rights and the rule of law are under attack," the UN chief told the 193-nation Assembly in New York overnight.
The Secretary-General cited the "new depths of barbarity" carried out by jihadists in Syria and Iraq and drew up a long list of world crises: the war in Gaza, fighting in Ukraine, South Sudan and Central African Republic.
"It has been a terrible year for the principles enshrined in the United Nations charter" that puts peace and security at the centre of its mission, he said.
- with AAP.
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