diff --git a/configure.py b/configure.py
index 21374d2a6b..2b404bd77c 100755
--- a/configure.py
+++ b/configure.py
@@ -329,11 +329,12 @@ def search_system_path(file_name: str) -> Optional[str]:  # type: ignore # Missi
         raise Exception('cl.exe not found. Run again from the Developer Command Prompt for VS')
     cflags = ['/showIncludes',
               '/nologo',  # Don't print startup banner.
+              '/utf-8',
               '/Zi',  # Create pdb with debug info.
               '/W4',  # Highest warning level.
               '/WX',  # Warnings as errors.
               '/wd4530', '/wd4100', '/wd4706', '/wd4244',
-              '/wd4512', '/wd4800', '/wd4702', '/wd4819',
+              '/wd4512', '/wd4800', '/wd4702',
               # Disable warnings about constant conditional expressions.
               '/wd4127',
               # Disable warnings about passing "this" during initialization.