diff --git a/make/defs.mk b/make/defs.mk
index 3d22256c..edbaa14d 100644
--- a/make/defs.mk
+++ b/make/defs.mk
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ FLAVOUR_PREFIX        ?= win32-
 FLAVOUR_SUFFIX        ?= -win32
 FLAVOUR_PATH_PREFIX   ?= win32/
 FLAVOUR_PATH_SUFFIX   ?= /win32
+USE_ASSERTIONS         = true
 endif
 
 PROJECT               ?= $(patsubst $(FLAVOUR_PREFIX)%,%,$(notdir $(shell cd $(TOPDIR); pwd | sed 's/.*\///; s/-[0-9].*//')))