Australia Registers No Refugee Boat Arrivals for 600 Days – Official

Australia is celebrating 600 days of successfully deterring asylum seekers through its policy of turning back boats, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — ​Refugees, including young children, seeking asylum in Australia are settled in offshore detention camps on Manus island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru in the South Pacific while their application is being processed by Australia.

"Tomorrow marks 600 days since last successful people smuggling venture," Dutton wrote on his official Twitter account.

Updating media on OSB w/ Maj Gen Bottrell. Tomorrow marks 600 days since last successful people smuggling venture pic.twitter.com/CfqAhbJp84

— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) 17 марта 2016 г.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized the camps for having inhumane living conditions.